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RI.org Insanity on a Random Basis
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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The Second Stage has ended.
As usual, you can keep posting, but the finalists would be advised to get some sleep, unless they have prior engagements to get to. |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 452 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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Cyan Garamonde – 7/4
The Angelic Castle
It all went white for a moment as the beams of holy energy swirled in the air and sped towards Cyan and Maduin, as well as towards the other participants who were fighting against their own clones. Multicolored lights flashed as it struck, and Cyan braced himself, and it all went dark as he felt his body being thrown in the air and then landing on a rather hard surface. As he opened his eyes and noticed that he was unscathed – mainly due to Maduin staying in front of him and absorbing most of the impact.
The Esper didn’t flinch, however and sped towards Alexander at great speed, regardless of his injures – which were quite heavy, after Alexander’s Holy Judgment, and a large portion of his body was badly burned – and he climbed Alexander’s castle-like body, trying to reach the dark clone, that sat atop the Holy Esper. Cyan followed him – the only wait to end this would be defeating his copy, which ultimately made Alexander disappear – and begin to climb as well, carefully avoiding the Esper’s wings that tried to stop him from getting to the ‘other’ Cyan. Alexander, in his turn, had to handle not only Cyan, but also Maduin, whose sharp claws pierced his pearl white ‘skin’ ruthlessly as he climbed, providing a good enough distraction for Cyan to be able to reach the parapet in which the clone sat.
Maduin roared as he dodged Alexander’s wings – thankfully, that was all the dark Esper could do, now that the two were already in their way to fight its master – and jumped to the air, grabbing on a ledge and pushing himself upwards then turning around to dodge yet another blow from the wings. Cyan was close behind, but the difficulties he faced got tougher – Alexander tried to move his huge body around, trying to get rid of the two, but his body was too big and slow for him to be very effective -, but he slowly managed to climb the Esper’s huge body.
Maduin grabbed one of Alexander’s wings tightly with his claws as to not to get thrown away – Alexander’s flapped his huge wings very fast now, as Maduin’s claws pierced into the only part of his ‘body’ that was exposed – distracting the castle-like creature enough so that Cyan could reach the top and face his clone.
And so the azure knight did, as he struggled to get atop the giant magical creature, pushing himself upwards and once again locking eyes with his clone. The two once again stared at each other, raising their katanas at the same time as the ground below – or rather, the top of Alexander – slowly trembled as the Esper moved his wings back and forth, trying to get rid of Maduin, who still relentlessly held onto his wings – biting and scratched them with all his strength.
The two swordsmen clashed once again on the roof, both swords carving similar blue arcs in the air as they swung them, and sparks flew as the metal clashed – none was able to outmatch the other, having the exact same abilities and strategies, the two was rapidly running low on stamina, which meant that the first to run out of steam would come out the winner of this match.
Several spells were cast, and several more blows were exchanged between them, but neither was willing to give up – there was nothing to give Cyan an edge, even if he knew his own weaknesses, but so did his clone. At the same time, Alexander threw Maduin against a wall repeatedly until the horned beast let go, exhausted, but relieved – his mission had been a success, to bring Cyan to the top of Alexander and fight his summoner -, as the Esper slowly disappear amid the chaos, back to his own realm, waiting for the next time he’d be summoned again.
And the two fought relentlessly atop Alexander, but the stalemate remained untouched. Suddenly, the whole structure below them began to tremble, and the clone let out faint chuckle – it was obvious that Alexander was going to do something, but Cyan was still unfamiliar with the Esper to really know what it was. He found out soon enough, though, as what could be interpreted as the Esper’s shoulder blades opened, revealing what seemed to be several small cannons, and spread his angelic wings – immediately afterwards, the cannons shot several pearl white streams of holy magic that swirled around the air upwards.
Judgment.
The two swordsmen braced themselves as the streams of holy magic swoop towards them, surrounding everything with a blinding white light, then disappearing. Cyan felt his body lighter as he was thrown out for the ledge and to the ground below – all followed by a deafening explosion that threw the knight further and into a wall. He didn’t know what had happened to the clone, but he knew that Alexander, for whatever reason, had attacked himself and if his clone was still there, he had probably perished along his dark Esper in the explosion. Cyan landed with a sickening thud in the ground, casting a quick Cure2 spell to close his open wounds and opened his yes.
The light had faded once again, and there was nothing but faint black smoke coming out of the crater Alexander once stood and there was no sign of his clone around. Taking a deep breath he stood back up, almost stepping on a pair of glasses, which he carefully picked it up – it most likely belonged to one of the people that were fighting alongside him.
“I am deeply sorry sir.” A deep voice said, apparently from inside his head, like when he talked to Maduin. “I lost control of my body. I apologize.”
Cyan simply laughed and prepared himself for the next trial the Mage of Hell had prepared to them. _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..."
Many thanks for SlicedBread for the picture! |
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Wayne Retiree

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 440
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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The End 7b-2 - Final Challenge
---
Culex's diamond-like feet echoed with each step on the marble floor, crossing an increasingly opulent-- though, as with that plane's inhabitants, this was merely an illusion-- stretch of ground, nearing the false Heaven's gates. They were made of gold, rather than pearl-- a liberal interpretation of the Scriptures, the Vandan thought, although close enough-- and stretched some hundred feet high, and appeared several feet thick. He looked up at the gates, and then around... its walls were made of some infernal metal, disguised as gemstone, but even more difficult to try to break through, and they extended as far as his eyes could see.
His eyes darkened, taking in the sight. There was a reason the Hells were referred to as 'infinite Planes.' He walked closer, the doors growing ever more impressive-- just as his senses affirmed to him that things were not as they seemed-- and, to his relief, albeit not exactly his surprise, the canny thief was hard at work at thinking of a way past.
"Mr. Cooper." greeted Culex, striding toward him. "I wish to apologize to you."
"Oh?" said the thief absently, testing the gilded engravings on the door with his hands, looking for a weakness.
"Yes. You were correct... sometimes there is a higher duty than the law alone... though it is a rare exception."
"Glad to hear it." replied Sly, stepping back from the gates with a sigh. "What about Ralph and the others? You know anything?"
The Dark Knight nodded. "Indeed. Ralph, himself... his future is hazy. That could mean that he will die... or simply that his destiny is out of his own hands, for the moment."
"Well, that's pleasant."
"Fortunately... though the remaining five face impending dread-- I didn't think you would be surprised-- their outlooks are favorable."
"'Favorable outlook.'" Sly echoed, shaking his head. "I'm not sure if you're a prophet, or a Magic 8-Ball."
Culex's eyes glimmered. "I am no seer. Just a very observant warrior who can sense the fabric of time. ...and I did assist our mortal friend, since you are about to ask."
"Well, what abou-- oh. Lucky guess. Anybody could tell I was still worried about him." He glanced up at Culex. "You believe in luck? Probably not, since you're so in tune with 'destiny' and 'time' and all that...."
"I do, actually." said the Vandan, eyes continuing to lighten. "There is an element of randomness, I believe, in the actions all mortals take. It seems as though all is pre-ordained, for those who gaze at the inner workings of time... but when the future is written into the present, I believe there is always a chance of... something unexpected occuring, instead."
"That's good." Sly replied, and he nodded up at the massive metal gates. "Because I was thinking it would take something really lucky to get us past that."
Culex said nothing and tested the doors himself, pressing against it. It was heavy, incredibly so; and he wasn't sure if he could actually force the gates open... nor what the results would be if he were to try, with such heavy slabs of metal. He stepped back and crossed his arms. "If we are to cross into the inner chambers of this Hell... and I believe we should try, if for no other reason than to try to end this ceaseless attack against us while their leader is occupied--"
"And to find the treasury, naturally." Sly cut in.
"...very well. And the treasury." Culex slowly levitated upward, stopping about ten feet off the ground. He tested the door again, but he realized that, in addition to being exceptionally heavy, the gate was also locked. His eyes darkened as he continued to rise... but as he reached just above the gate, looking over into an expanse much like the one they had just crossed, although a palace or fortress of some kind loomed in the distance, he felt some barrier, invisible and magical, push back against him. He quickly realized that due to the supernatural nature of the place, the gate would have to be bypassed before he could enter... even from above.
"What do you think?" called the raccoon upward, and the crystalline knight began to glide back down.
"Do you think you would be able to pick this lock?"
Sly squinted, focusing on a small-- at least in respect to the door; the opening must have been at least five inches-- keyhole in the right side of the gate. "...maybe if I was about twenty feet taller with much bigger lockpicks."
Culex tapped the door with the back of his hand. "This gate... seems impenetrable. It would take a Miracle to break through it."
"A miracle, you say?" called a voice that Culex had not expected to hear again so soon, and in a flurry of rose petals Peorth again stood before them. "Ah, Monsieur Culex, where would you be without me? And..." she abruptly stopped, finally noticing Sly. "Mm, what is this? An animal, a raton-laveur? Non, non, Culex... he is not at all cute! What is he doing here?"
"Well, you're no vixen yourself, either." retorted Sly, more amused than insulted.
Peorth began to speak but Culex quickly interfered, taking a step toward the goddess. "Another time. Perhaps? Lady Peorth, I did not foresee meeting with you again, although the surprise is pleasant. ...do you have an idea for how to proceed?"
The brown-haired goddess grinned and flipped her right hand out with a flourish, a fresh wave of rose petals following the gesture. The three markings on her face began to glow, and suddenly a pair of gigantic, thorny vines lashed out from some point just behind her and struck at the gate. To Culex's surprise the mystical vines left an impact dent in the metal as they smashed it, and Peorth called them back, preparing another attack.
"It will take all of us, as a team, espris de corps, but it can be done." She pointed toward the gate again, and the second attack was even more effective, beginning to bash in the door. Culex nodded and summoned all three of his remaining Crystals, mentally ordering them to unleash their power on that point, right in the middle of this obstacle. And to their surprise, Sly doffed his hat, taking a mine from it, and primed it, throwing it to stick to the wall.
"...what? It can't hurt!"
Peorth laughed, and then prepared her angelic assault; Culex's eyes lit somewhat as well as his elemental crystals focused their most powerful attacks, and a Dark Star plummeted from the sky above as well; and Sly, not to be too badly outdone, at least, made an impressive show of flipping around his cane and pressing the detonator trigger.
The massive explosion that followed from their combined attacks unleashed a scream of twisted, tearing metal, and the gates split apart, with a large crater near its center, and a series of cracks marring the entire face of it. With such damage done the demonic illusion faded, revealing the gate as little more than ugly, reinforced iron; and Culex stepped to the base of the gates. Bracing himself, digging into the ground with his feet, he wound up and then struck at the right side of the gate in a massive display of strength, and steel curved in around his fist, and the force at the base was enough to topple the entire enormous obstacle.
The Dark Knight surveyed the results, and with shining eyes turned back to Sly and Peorth. "That was done well. Lady Peorth, I realize that was the limit of the assistance you can grant... and I thank you for it."
"Well," she began, "If you need a miracle, is there anyone better to ask than a goddess? Ho ho ho!" she laughed behind her glove, voice high, and joyful.
"I will remember that." Culex said, and he gave Peorth a deep bow, before turning back to Sly. "...it seems all the obstacles to our progress are, finally, dealt with. I--"
"I wouldn't be throwing a party yet." interrupted Sly, pointing ahead in the distance. Approaching them-- as Culex and Sly were walking forward as well, they were soon to meet halfway, along a wide gold-and-marble glamered street... though with an unfathomable drop into the Abyss on the distant sides, some fifty or so meters away on either side-- was a pair that Culex had sensed before, though he had only met one of the two.
Darth Malak and his 'apprentice,' Akira, stalked toward them. They stopped perhaps twenty feet short of the Dark Knight and the thief, and for a moment no one spoke.
"You won't believe what we just had to get through." complained Sly, "...so why are you two waiting for us on the other side?!"
"It is simple," hissed Malak, voice amplified yet at the same time oddly distorted by his lower-jaw cybernetics. "I have a talent for always staying one step ahead of my... competitors." His dark eyes glanced at Akira, who stared unflinchingly at Sly; and then he sensed something near Culex....
With a gliding sound the Twin Sword Culex had taken apart and kept in pieces in the phantasmal pocket of his suit suddenly broke free, manifesting in the physical plane with a pop of air and a flash of light; and before the Dark Knight could react Malak raised his hand, and the ancient weapon flew in fragments toward him.
"...I knew when I accepted that blade that its master sought a Sith Lord." said Culex evenly, glowing eyes boring into the Sith Lord, "...but I did not sense the betrayal here, now, at all."
Malak gave a short, mechanical laugh, and in one smooth motion snapped the handle and the twin vibroblades together, and twirled it through the air. "Ah, a blade similar in nature to Ajunta Pall's... but far more powerful. How fortuitious that a relic of the Dark Side should spring to my hand... why I tore from Revan's mind the knowledge that you are immune to my light saber, hm?"
Culex's eyes met Malak's, and the Sith Lord matched his gaze unflinchingly, although Akira was not yet so certain. The Vandan sighed, and then stretched both arms downward, a crackling sound of freezing ice arising from his hands as he formed a longsword of crystal, holding it in his left, and extending the claws of his right, if he'd needed them. Sly, realizing that the Sith and the martial-arts using girl were both dangerous, tensed himself, his cane prepared.
The crystalline knight looked down at Sly, nodded, and then turned, raising his curved amethyst blade toward the enemy. "I am Culex, Dark Knight of Vanda. I have joined this tournament to challenge the strongest knights. Will you accept my challenge? Will you enter combat against me?"
Darth Malak brandished the Twin Sword with remarkable skill, and preparing his first defensive Force powers. "I accept, Knight. As does my... apprentice."
---
Good thing we still have a whole third phase for all this, eh? *chuckles* |
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Peptuck Total Rat Bastard SOB

Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 583 Location: On Halo and loving it
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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D + 145 hours:22 minutes:02 seconds (SPARTAN 117 Mission Clock)/ Hell
Blue plasma scorched into Jedah's chest, throwing up smoke. The demon floated back, enraged, before tearing off one of his arms and launching a stream of blood directly at the Master Chief. John rolled aside, the blood splattering harmlessly on the ground where he'd been standing, the acidic property of the fluid eating through the ground below. The Chief's counter consisted of a trio of plasma bolts, the blue energy hammering Jedah ferociously. Where the azure shots had connected there remained three large, burnt patches in Jedah's coat, but the burns were quickly replaced with repaired skin. Nonetheless, Jedah was hurting.
The demon rushed forward and spun, ripping off one of his arms and launching another stream of blood at John. The Spartan ducked and rolled forward, once more under the attack, but took Jedah's dismembered arm in the face as he continued spinning. His shields flared, and only a quick reflexive blast of the plasma rifle saved the Chief from getting whacked again and completely disabling his shields. Jedah jerked once as the plasma hit, the delay long enough to enable John to reach to his side with lightning speed and snatch up the plasma sword. With a single swing, he cut upward into Jedah's chest with the glowing double wedge.
Jedah split in two, sliced cleanly in half by the plasma blade. The Chief leaped away, safely past Jedah, and spun around to see the demon's lower half falling to the ground while his second sailed through the air. But this remained for only a second as blood shot out through the cauterized wounds and reconnected the two halves of Jedah, and with a disgustingly squishy sound, the two ends pulled each other together, reforming in a splash of blood.
"What the f...." John muttered as Jedah tore his wings off and hurled them at the Chief. A flash of the plasma sword chopped them apart, and John snapped up the plasma rifle one-handed and fired a barrage that took Jedah in his face and chest. The demon fell back as a dozen blue bolts tore into him, inflicting searing agony, but the pain faded very quickly as the burns regenerated.
Jedha smiled as he tore another part of his wings out (which by now had fully regenerated) and used it like a knife to jab himself twice in the torso. Twin jets of blood launched at the Chief, who roled away with ease. He snapped the rifle up in time to see Jedah launch his real attack, a slice on his wrist that severed that hand, launching it out like a rocket. The fist hammered the Chief, causing him to almost lose his balance, and then Jedah was on the Spartan, tearing his wing loose again and slashing with the scythe-like appendage. John's shields lit up once more, and the warning alarm sounded insistently as the protective field was reduced to a hairsbreadth of its power.
Jedah reared back for another brutal slash when twin jets of blood exploded from his body. In particular, from his back.
One of those jets sealed instantly, as the cut iced over, but by then Drizzt Do'Urden's scimitars traced lower, slicing apart Jedah's back in a flurry of cuts that almost matched the Master Chief's own inhuman motions. A quick and beautiful spinning series of slashes along Jedah's legs tore out his hamstrings and crippled the demon, and Drizzt then cut higher, his blades flashing out wide and slicing into Jedah's neck. An explosion of blood heralded Jedah's free-flying head.
All of this happened in less than a second.
Jedah snapped a hand up to his flying head and caught it, while leaping back up to his feet as the wounds regenerated. The demon spun, replacing his head, which now bore a frown of annoyance.
A double wedge of glowing plasma shot through Jedah's belly as the Master Chief stabbed the blade through the demon. A flick of the Spartan's wrist sent the blade upward, bisecting the demon from his stomach up.
As with before, the blood shot forth from the cauterized wounds, and the split halves of Jedah's upper body resealed themselves. the demon ripped off one of his arms and swung it down at Drizzt while kicking at the Chief with a leg. Drizzt stopped the arm and countered three times over with his own slices, and Jedah lost his leg as John chopped it off in a defensive counter, but the wounds sealed and repaired instantly.
"We're gonna be here a while," Cortana muttered, and John had to agree. _________________ "I need a copy of halo 2. im 14 and u know i play games all day so i can test it fo u. MeGanaXX"
Dearest MeGanaXX,
14 what? IQ points? Months? If you mean years, then we're doomed. Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation better have kept all those WW2 weapons, because they're going to have a battle on their hands when your Hatest Generation of functionally retarded Dew-guzzling molemen tries to take over the world with a combination of idiocy and poor penmanship.
~Letters to the Bungie Webmaster |
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Tenshi Kain The Chief Apostle

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 413 Location: Train Graveyard
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 12:38 am Post subject: |
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I do this with Dareon and Carly's permission, just because I needed to write and Zodd's cameo didn't do much in the end, heh! Here you go.
---
There was an odd thrum in his head.
Going to...die...
It was hard to think of the other as the 'true' Shizumaru when existence itself was just one moment of truth, nearly two decades of growth and memory compressed into a matter of minutes. The clone could only call himself that, though, as the pain in his back grew to another high, pinching pang. He staggered away from parrying another furious strike from the Muramasa- the other Muramasa, the same vicious red edge slamming on the flat of his- and very nearly fell, warm blood matted to the back of his kimono jacket, clinging to the corners of his lips, scented on his ragged breath.
It was worse than it looked, the clone knew. His black eyes tried to adopt defiance but only claimed pain, feeling a rivulet of red tickle his hip. A deep strike...mere millimeters from the spine, a breath away from paralysis and damnation...
Shizumaru backed away, the Muramasa held in his familiar low stance, starting to circle the clone. By fear or by his own warring existence, the clone circled as well, his Muramasa held low at the left. He turned his black eyes on Shizumaru's, panting harder, his throat thick with warmth and copper. The slightest mistake means death...will it be mine? After so long...am I going to die...?
No. The clone clenched his teeth on the next gasp of air he took, making a hiss. No, this would not be death. He had learned so much else, been to so many other worlds, survived so many battles and this was no different! Hadn't Ukyo taught him the Tsubame Gaeshi? Hadn't Alma and Mint shown him the way to self-salvation? Hadn't Rimururu...
Rimururu...
...when had he known her-
Shizumaru's Muramasa disappeared with a quick hand switch behind his back, and the Ou Haraeno Maga Kami Shizumaru, that mighty nodachi that was his own, appeared with a draw that was too fast, too good to be used with a longsword. The clone clenched his jaw hard enough to crack two teeth, and tore forward, legs pumping with intensity that ignored the heat of his own wounds. "IIE! IIE!" he screamed, swinging the Muramasa down low, the tip rending the pearly ground with a screech as he closed in with Shizumaru, igniting in a wide slash that he all but saw cleaving his false self in two smoking halves-
those were kisses not lies the countless nights i lay with her were not lies you will not deny me them you will not deny me my memories i will cut you in two
He might have, if not for that thrum in his head.
Shizumaru weaved away, his trademark nodachi held high over his right shoulder as the tip of the Muramasa lashed the front of his kimono. It fell open just enough for the clone to see Shizumaru's stomach muscles tense, see his hips steady and his legs freeze in a solid bend-
-and he used that to bring the Muramasa back, almost in mid-swing, and slam it into Shizumaru's nodachi.
The shock coursed through them both, nearly knocking them back. In a snapshot through the haze of pain and adrenaline, the clone could see that Shizumaru's parry this time was edge-to-edge- good. Good, that was good, he was surprised now build on it! The clone pushed violently, screaming in his throat, twisting enough to point the Muramasa at Shizumaru's shocked face and thrust. The other's instincts served him well, though- a twist of the head evaded all but a neat, red slice on Shizumaru's right cheek, just under the eye.
A cut under the eye...a scar under the eye...
It only made the clone angrier.
He shunted aside the pain, screaming even as Shizumaru took a quick, lunging sidestep to the right. The clone spun after him, swiping wide at head level, screaming again when Shizumaru ducked it, stopping to gasp when the Maga Kami Shizumaru thrust in faster than he could evade. Pain claimed him again, a slight stumble the only thing that saved him from being taken through the middle by the thrust of Shizumaru's nodachi- the tip found the skin above his left hip, tore it open, pierced quick but deep-
felt pain worse than this eve altima shang tsung odin AMEKI where is ameki why is he not in me why now do i wish he were here leg coming up
Shizumaru's leg did come up, the nodachi pulling out and his sandalled right foot smacking into the clone's chest. Recognition widened the clone's eyes, gaping black holes seeing Shizumaru kick off his own chest and bring the nodachi up and over his head, coming down in a furious slash- the Sandan, Amanagare Kyoraku Zan in all but name.
Too fast to block, too close to interrupt- but he knew this move, knew its limits, even if they weren't his anymore. The clone was already moving from Shizumaru's kick, and he used it, pushing on the balls of his feet and drawing the Muramasa flat over his head as he fell back-
-and the top six inches of the slash took the flat and rammed it between his eyes.
Something gave in his nose, and pain sparked in his brow. The clone fell back, head striking the platform hard, his swords clattering under his back, the tip of the nodachi gashing his forehead and the impact shattering the bridge of his nose. His body hit the floor with tremendous violence, enough for Shizumaru to mutter "oh" as he reached the ground again.
For a moment, neither moved. The clone kept his eyes closed, tried to let it look worse than it really was- hard to do. He had not been fast enough to counter the Sandan. Stars mixed with red danced in his head, the pain suddenly gripping him in an embrace. He finally opened his eyes, blinking through blood, looked at his shocked self staring down at him...
Weakly croaked, "Rim...Rimururu..."
He could feel it- feel the cold wave that hit Shizumaru. It hit him, too, on a level. He could feel that quick slap of shock and horror gripping the other, how much it hurt for that second to be killing yourself, all your own hopes and memories, fading though they were...
But it was a pain he could bear.
you will not deny me you will not, Tachibana-sensei watch me now
Uncanny strength seized him. The clone clenched his jaw and cracked another tooth with the tsunami of power that crashed down on him, washed away the pain for that one second. With power he had once seen Ukyo wield, the clone whipped his feet high over his head, the Muramasa swiping out to the side, and flipped over. His feet hit the ground, his head came up to face the still-blinking Shizumaru, and the moment he felt the heavenly breeze tickling his red locks, he pulsed his legs again, as Ukyo Tachibana once had, and with one horizontal slash from the right, as fast as the draw of Ukyo's nameless sword from its sheath, the clone tore through before Shizumaru could react-
-and felt the Muramasa shudder as it passed through Shizumaru's skin.
He didn't get all of it, but he had definitely hurt the other. Shizumaru's sidestep was not fast enough, and the Muramasa cut deep into his left side, winning a cry of pain from the young kenshi. The clone could not follow his own strike, and only when he had been brought around by the full spin of his lunge did he see the result. A long, deep gash under Shizumaru's left ribcage, which the other now clamped an arm to, face flushed with pain...and still the same horror as before.
The clone would for that moment have felt hope, triumph, victory- but all he felt was another thing Ukyo had felt once, long before.
Blood tearing through a cough.
The clone's throat was a raging hell as he pulled away, coughing, the blood seeping through the back of his kimono- the wound had opened itself up further. Now he could feel how deep it was. His throat now matched the wet gravel in his chest, weighing him down more than the weight of three swords ever could. It hurt.
"Rimu..." he breathed, hoarsely, dizzily, barely managing to match Shizumaru's stare. "Rimu...ruru..."
Growing as a child, plagued by thoughts of death- whether by other children, other villagers, or the hell of loneliness- he had often wondered what his last words would be. Now he wondered only what they should be. And if these were his...
"Rimururu..." The clone drew the Muramasa up again, no more passion or hate in his stance, and pressed on again. "Rimururu..."
If Shizumaru understood, the clone did not know. But he understood enough to sheathe the Ou Haraeno Maga Kami Shizumaru, and take up the bloody black tachi again, and step forward. Pressing on despite the pain. That, perhaps more than the physical appearance, made them the same.
Red struck red and black struck black, and the thrum in his head grew louder. _________________
Eve :: Of :: The :: Festival
Nosferatu Zodd, Rurouni Taikai SaGa |
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Coin Huh?

Joined: 07 Jul 2003 Posts: 484 Location: Gotham City
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 12:45 am Post subject: |
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Batman watched the chaos around him. The mindless violence... why must everything be solved by fighting? Nearby an armored man, whom Batman had come to recognise as Master Chief was fighting with a few other men, including the drow Batman had fought alongside in previous rounds.
The demon healed itself immediately, regenerating all limbs and wounds almost instantaneously. What could a mere human do against a demon such as that? For once Batman did not know how to defeat a fow, the demon had no visible weaknesses. Yet.
Dropping alongside Drizzit, he whispered, "To death, friend."
Batman thus joined the battle. _________________
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1202 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Hisame Shizumaru – 7:4
Ameki had told him and warned him of the power that the blade wielded – he had seen the effects of the sword’s power on his closest friends – and he knew the legends behind its strength; the curse that it bestowed to all of its owners. Regardless, Shizumaru held the Muramasa in his hands against his clone, defending himself against the strength of his own self (it was remarkably confusing, even still), wary about how the blade was making his hands shake, feeling every vein in his body pop as blood rushed through. Only that sword could possibly make him so aware of his life – and the life before him.
The two samurai charged at each other once more, screaming as far as their throats would let them as they attacked – Shizumaru slamming the true Muramasa against his shadow’s, the shadow coming up low with a strike at his knee, Shizumaru jumping to avoid the blow, and kicking him flat in the chest to knock him away. He dashed after the clone’s skidding body on the ground, and raised the sword above his head to plunge it into its heart – but the clone rolled away in the nick of time, swerving the fake blade in the air towards Shizumaru by the side; holding it by the hilt and slamming it to his left, where it nearly hit Shizumaru dead on in his upper arm. Shizumaru backed away barely in time, and rolled back, flipping into the air to land on his feet, and the clone spun to the side, pushing off and twirling on his heel to face his basis.
The clone burst at Shizumaru with a speed pulled out of his strength leftover, and rushed at him with the look of death in his eyes – Shizumaru brushed off the cut on his left cheek, and ducked down at the last second possible to avoid the blade, jamming the tip of the true Muramasa into the clone, and drawing it out to see the blood that covered it. The clone gritted his teeth, staggering back from his injuries – both Shizumaru and the shadow were pushed to the limits of their bodies, bleeding heavily from each other’s attacks. Even so, they still continued their struggle – Shizumaru leapt into the air, keeping the Muramasa out of its sheath as the clone followed along. Their blades met in another Hell-shaking crash in the air, but again, Shizumaru won the bout, and brought his umbrella out from behind his back quickly, snapping it open as he sheathed the bloody sword, and spinning it faster than the eye could see. The clone’s blood poured into the sky, splattering over Shizumaru’s face as they both fell, and slicing open the clone’s chest in a gruesome fashion – sinew and muscle hung limply from the torn flesh, as he struggled to stay conscious, coughing up blood, mucus, vomit – whatever else was there to expel. Regardless, he still blew forward with bloodshot eyes, rocketing towards Shizumaru – who leapt into the air as the shadow lunged for him, throwing his umbrella to the sky.
The clone didn’t have time to look as the Muramasa plunged through his back, coming out clean through his heart, spraying blood over Shizumaru (who was behind him). He withdrew the sword by pushing off of his back, and leapt into the air, flipping once, and swinging the Muramasa down to slice through the clone – it connected on his shoulder, cutting down nearly to the bone. It screamed in agony, clutching his shoulder and crying out in pain – if Shizumaru hadn’t been so caught up in the power of the blade, he might have felt pity for the shadow there. Needless to say, as he was literally dripping in the blood of the shadow, the sword had corrupted him in its lust to the point where pain was simply not affecting him.
Remarkably – the shadow still managed to stand, even after all of his injuries. He wasn’t so rash this time as to charge directly at Shizumaru, being so weak and injured, but he bravely held the false Muramasa in front of him, with a single hand, biting his lip to try and distract himself from the pain. Shizumaru growled, and dashed toward him – the clone’s eyes widened, and he gasped, trying to hold his blade up to defend himself, even though he knew it would be absolutely no use against an opponent far less injured. It perhaps wasn’t so much that he knew that his death was imminent, rather that the look of hell had flooded into Shizumaru’s eyes, possessing him, controlling his emotions and his mind, giving him only one word to live by – blood.
The first strike of the Muramasa connected on the clone’s leg, cutting nearly through the bone – it, of course, was followed by another gush of blood, at first spitting out, but then falling to a trickle. The next strike was his right shoulder, which, when the Muramasa connected to the bone, dislodged it clean from the socket, barely hanging onto his body – the sword had just about ripped it straight off. The third strike was the other leg, and the fourth the other shoulder – near exactly the same maneuvers had been taken care to them.
The fifth strike came to the abdomen, where the Muramasa was shoved through and pulled out immediately, leaving a clean cut, but immeasurable agony in its wake. The sixth strike was the right ribcage, and as the flat of the Muramasa smashed into it, the cracks of bones, popping like firecrackers, were clearly audible, just as they were on the opposite side – which was the sixth hit. The seventh hit came to the shadow’s stomach, spilling out the bowels in another spray of blood and organ. The eighth, then was a quick slit against its throat, cutting through the neck about halfway, and the final hit of the Muramasa was a clean stab through his front, into his heart.
Only one wish remained; only one last memory – a kiss in the night, lying asleep under the moon...
"... Rimu – ruru..."
Koyomi was his death.
It had been performed deliberately slow – the Muramasa’s will; to draw in as much blood as was possible. Shizumaru withdrew the sword from the clone’s chest, as it fell limply to the ground, curling up in a twisted mass of flesh and bone; wildly indistinguishable as any human. Shizumaru was nearly covered in the clone’s blood – which, by all means, happened to be his own, but it hadn’t been from himself that it spilled – and he clutched a hand to the gash in his left side, sheathing the Muramasa and turning his blood-red eyes to the Lord of Hell, staring him down with the same bloodlust in his eye that the Muramasa had given him.
Whatever gentleness had existed in the eyes before had been erased.
"Do not taunt me with these shadows," Shizumaru spoke hoarsely to the Hell’s Lord, baring his teeth. "You see what it has made me? I have become exactly what I saw two years ago in the eyes of the man who last held this sword. That thing I saw, I cannot explain... but it leads me here, before you," he drew out the Muramasa again, still wet and dripping with warm blood, and held out his arm, placing the Muramasa against it to cut into his skin – but no matter how hard he pressed, the sword would not pierce his skin. "I am the one chosen by this sword, whether I like it or not. What purpose it shall serve me... I still haven’t figured out."
"What’s that got to do with me?" the Lord smirked, sipping on a convienently-placed cup of Earl Grey tea (remarkable how Hell works like that, isn’t it?). "You’re going off on so many torrents... there’s no point to this reverie, is there?"
Shizumaru shook his head. "There is one. This sword wants your blood, not mine. I could not resist the pull of the sword to kill my own self – what makes you think that I could possibly resist its call to kill you?"
The Lord of Hell gulped, and the teacup in his hands trembled, as Shizumaru went on, licking one droplet of blood from his lips that had begun to pool and fall. "You can’t do it. You’re bluffing!"
"I just killed myself," Shizumaru pointed to the clone, which, despite being dead for some time by now, still looked frighteningly alive despite the horror of the slow Koyami against it. "If I can do that... then you are nothing to me."
"We’ll see," The Hell’s Lord set down his teacup.
"As you wish," Shizumaru bowed his head low – his eyes becoming alive again with the Muramasa’s lust.
-- _________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . Credo quia absurdum non credere. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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Procyon Raccoon Master Thief

Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 244 Location: Socorro, NM
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 12:59 am Post subject: 7-2 |
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The Jedi's eyes burned as he took a few practice swings with the sword he had just taken from Culex, and sparks of energy danced from his fingers. Next to him, clad in black leather and wearing an ominous helmet with an evil-looking skull emblazoned on it, his minion nodded.
"Shall we begin, Malak, my liege?" A deep but faintly feminine voice - familiar to Sly from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where - emanated from beneath the skull.
"Yes..." Malak hissed. "Let's end this... here." Sparks of energy danced from his fingers.
Sly coughed slightly, turning slightly to the crystalline knight. "Well," he said, "Quite the fearsome duo there; should be a spectacular battle. Culex, Peorth, I want you to know, I'll be behind you all the way! In the meantime, I'm going to take this opportunity to explore the... " Sly scanned behind him, looking for the goddess. "Now where did she -"
"Not this time, I'm afraid." Culex turned his head toward the raccoon. "There are many times from which it is best to run - but eventually even the fastest runner will find himself backed into a corner and can run no more - he must only fight. Today is such a day, Sly Cooper, and I have chosen that you will join me in this fight."
Sly Cooper breathed deeply. A thief attacks only when necessary... and to charge head-on into even combat with an enemy one did not even understand was foolish. Even with a formidable ally to back him, this was an incredibly bad idea...
"Ha ha ha!" The skull-helmeted figure laughed. "Look, the little rat doesn't want to fight us. He's afraid!"
"Let him run away, then." Malak chuckled to himself slightly, and stared intently at the raccoon - suddenly causing Sly to sudder as he felt the Jedi's thoughts infiltrating his mind, probing his memories. "Cowards have no place here." Sly trembled slightly, and suddenly his mind was filled with images of violence - of dark, looming shadows battering down the house door, of the sounds of vicious combat and his own house being torn apart, his own father's screams of fear and pain. And then he saw them - the entire Fiendish Five, dark silhouettes staring and laughing at him as they had so many times late at night in the dreams of his childhood at the orphanage: Raleigh, Muggshot, Mz. Ruby, the Panda King... and Clockwerk.
"Run off and grab your precious gold, worthless animal. Thieves are not cut out to fight. Now get out of here, before you end up like your father."
Sly shuddered, clenching his teeth. "...No!" he screamed, and suddenly the images shattered. The Jedi had made a huge mistake. "You're wrong, Malak. I'll tell you what happened to the Fiendish Five. I fought them - I defeated them. And I will fight and defeat you!"
Malak frowned. "Very well. Then you will die." And he bolted forward, his sword carving an arc directly for the raccoon - but with a lightning-fast roll Sly dodged it and sprung to his feet again, rotating his cane around into the attack position. The raccoon's eyes steeled, and he felt his cane charge with with the energy of a raging fire. Behind him stood a red crystal, complementing the yellow and blue crystals that had appeared around Culex.
Sly smiled to himself, his confidence restored, as the Jedi snarled and rose to his feet himself. "Perhaps you're a little more feisty than you look, verminous robber."
"The only 'vermin' around here are you and your crony, Malak. And I'm not a robber, or even just a thief - I'm a Cooper. And you two are about to understand just what that means."
"Hmph." Malak glared at him. "Akira, why don't you take care of this one. The crystal knight is mine." _________________
Description 1: Police Dossier
Description 2: The Thievius Raccoonus Online
Chapter 0: Return to Paris 0-1 0-2
Chapter 4: The Red Menace 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7
Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-8 5-9 5-10
Chapter 6: The Jack of Diamonds 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Chapter 7: Seventh Hell 7-1 7-2 7-3 7-4
Current Location: Hell, swept into the air
Last edited by Procyon on Sun Jun 13, 2004 1:17 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 1:02 am Post subject: |
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Final Stage - Final Fight
"Hmph." The Mage of Hell seemed amused as the last of the doppelgängers faded into oblivion. "You mortals. Constantly struggling against the inevitable. Why do you do it? For love? For peace? For honor? Vagaries of perception. Illusions created by mortals who wish to seem more than they are. Base creatures of instinct and bloodlust. This is all you are. This is all you ever will be. Now, many such base and vulgar creatures will die. Beginning with yourselves."
Raising his arms, the Mage of Hell roared. Around the seven assembled beings, the scenery flowed and melted. Ivory, gold, and pastels melted off the surroundings like wax down a candle, revealing underneath black, red, bone white, and various visceral colors. As the contestants stared, bewildered, the scenery began to look quite a lot more like Hell. They stood on a jet-black dais of pocked and scored volcanic rock. Great spikes of iron rose from the edges where before there had been ivory columns. In the distance, volcanos and lava pools bubbled and burned. Above, where a brilliant sun had shone through pearly clouds, now the pall of smoke and dark clouds gave the moon a reddish cast.
As the last vestiges of the false heaven disappeared, the demon-possessed mage lowered his arms, eyes softening.
"Please... Destroy him. Destroy us... help us... help..." His voice turned mocking, mouth curling into a sneer. "...us, help us! Pitiful humans. So set upon railing against destiny. It's futile. Everything that is to be SHALL be, including my ascension and reign over all planes! Not even the Eternals will be able to stop me, for if I could defeat one chosen by them to be a champion, who could possibly stand before me?" Drawing one hand, palm up, downward through the air, he revealed a black iron longsword, spikes protruding from the sides like branches off a tree, the entire blade trailing a plume of gray smoke. The sword hovered an inch above the Mage of Hell's palm, and the mage himself rose a few inches off the ground. "Now you shall die, and your souls will be bound to me, forced to watch as first I conquer your worlds and then the others, in a cataclysm you are powerless to stop."
Special Rule: Mage of Hell - Final Fight
Okay, now THIS is more like Hell. Bones, fire, blood, twisted black iron, fire, lava, dead and stunted trees, fire... Yeah, it's classical. This is the showdown now. You five against him, and he's no pushover. In canon, Hell's Lord is hard even if you spend 30 hours levelling up. The entirety of Hell has changed to reflect its more classical nature. Those fluffy rivers of cloud you've been wading through? Blood. Gold has been replaced by blackened iron, pearl by bone or rock, crystal by... Oh, just use your imagination. Or a Hieronymous Bosch painting, that would do just as well.
Here's a bit of listing of what Hell's Lord and Amethyst on their own can do.
Amethyst: A powerful magician, the most powerful in his world, due to the tournaments. He can cast almost every spell in the game, plus he can combine spells of different or opposing schools to create new ones. A listing of the spells he knows can be found -HERE-, including Amethyst magic which was created during the tournaments. Amethyst magic is typically created by combining the names and effects of two spells from diferent schools. MoH won't be using too much Amethyst magic, since while he has subjugated the component mages such that he's in control, he hasn't mastered their technique just yet.
Hell's Lord: Canon powers for Hell's Lord include:
Sabers: Sword attack. Hits all. Looks more like a laser sweep than a sword attack.
IllStorm: Poisons all. It's a massive flood of pinkish-purple energy.
Smile: Paralyzes all. It's a bright flash, apparently from his teeth. This one and IllStorm can be resisted, of course, and are only used rarely, not like that @#&*# Sabers... Sorry, boss fight flashbacks.
FireBreath: This is a cone-like wave of fire from the lizard portion that can hit multiple people.
IceBreath: Ditto, only ice instead of fire.
BoltBreath: Again from the lizard portion, this is a straight line of electrical energy that can hit multiple people if you happen to be standing one behind the other.
The Mage of Hell can also use the claws on the lizard portion's body and attack with the sword normally, using normal SaGa Frontier Sword Techs. Consult a FAQ or ask TT or myself for advice if you want more description on a spell or sword tech.
This stage is meant to show how well you can write teamwork. Individual grandstanding won't bring an end to this. Simultaneous attacks, keeping an eye out for your fellow competitor, running interference, and other handy skills are the way to VICTOLY! Do not kill him yourself, though, that lies within my bailiwick. Share and enjoy, and may the best (gender-neutral identifier) win!
Edit: And I forget something again! As the two before it, this stage lasts 12 hours, with options for contestant-requested extensions, plus however long it takes me to write up ending overstory and afterparty. |
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San Draco Elven High Wizard

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 913 Location: Faerun
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 3:07 am Post subject: |
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Malak and Akira both adopted defensive stances, Malak shifting slightly so that his 'apprentice' was in the front. Unsurprisingly, Malak kept the lightsabre at his belt, leaving Akira to fight with her bare hands.
To this, Culex muttered, "Interesting choice."
Malak's eyes narrowed. "Very interesting. It is not, however, due to any concern I may possess." He nodded. "Can you see the future, Knight of Vanda?"
The crystalline entity shook its head. "No. I merely see some of the shards of fate as they are being cut. And, of course, I use my 'warrior instinct.'"
Once again, Malak's voice synthesizer muttered, "Interesting. In that case..." He motioned with his hand, and Akira dashed forward, moving with incredible speed... but not as fast as Culex. Before she could reach, the Knight swung out with his blade. In a blur of motion, Akira caught Culex's wrist, twisted it, and flipped the amethyst-like creature to the ground.
Malak chuckled to himself. "Better. Much..."
Suddenly, the Sith lord found himself on his knees, as Sly Cooper had hit the back of his right one with the cane. Normally, such an attack wouldn't even go through the armor, but somehow...
Sly reeled back for a stab, firey energy pulsing from his cane, but Malak used the Force to leap high up into the air. The Cooper followed his movements, prepared to dodge out of the way when the time was right... when Akira dashed in with her Gairimon. Seemingly without effort, she knocked Sly up into the air... although, surprisingly, he didn't seem to go that far, not nearly as far as Culex had.
Still, it was enough for Malak to get an opening. He slashed down with the 'procured' blade, catching Sly while he was going up. With the combined momentum, the blade should have easily cut the raccoon... yet, even with the wind knocked out of him, and with no real room to maneuver, he managed to twist to the side, turning a fatal blow into... a completely harmless one. He was down for the moment, though, and he knew that, in this case, it would be better to play dead until both of them were distracted.
As they soon were. Culex was back up on his feet, and three of his crystals began swirling around the Dark master and his apprentice. Suddenly, a sheet of flame emanated from the red crystal, catching both of Culex's opponents. Malak was singed: Akira was burned.
Still, they were both on their feet, much to the Crystal Knight's approval. Then, as though they had rehearsed the maneuver several times over, Akira and Malak went in opposite directions, attempting to catch Culex in a pincer formation. Culex, having already decided that Akira was the greater of two threats, sent the Earth Crystal to cut off Malak's attack.
With a whirling motion, the Dark Knight backhanded Akira. Once again, Akira was poised to grasp his arm... when his attack seemed to speed up. Caught by surprise, Akira was knocked back by the sheer force of the blow, and she flew backwards.
At the same time, Malak used his Force Jump to leap onto the Earth Crystal, and then leaped again at Culex. Without any warning, the Sith lord sliced through part of Culex's crystalline exterior, the blade he had acquired slicing through the thick armor with ease. Malak was exultant... for the few seconds that he was still in the air. A few feet before Malak could hit the ground, Culex whipped around with incredible speed, his fist catching the Jedi and flinging him backwards, just as his apprentice had.
At that moment, the slightly-insulted Earth Crystal manifested the first of its powers. Suddenly, the dust and dirt of the celestial city began to twist and spin, soon acquiring enough matter to be considered a full-strength Sand Storm. The miniscule particles of sand and dirt were mostly repelled by Malak's armor and cybernetics, but Akira was far worse off: her face began bleeding from minor cuts and wounds. Individually, they were nothing more than annoyances. Together, however...
She cowered slightly, and ran to rejoin her master. Malak considered the situation carefully... but only for a moment. Once again, Culex lashed out with his sword, and Malak caught it with one end of his own weapon. The two were locked in the power struggle...
...Until Akira leapt up, and utilized one of her tai-chi joint strikes. It was a technique that could cave in a swordsman's elbow, especially when it was extended in a swing. She hit the joint... and nothing happened. Culex looked at her, with a slightly bemused expression. "What were you attempting to do?"
"This!" Malak dashed in, as Culex was distracted, and spun his weapon in a complete arc, knocking another chink into Culex. Akira took this opportunity to extend her foot and push the humanoid over it: there was a moment where it looked like the creature would be able to regain its footing, but as Akira completed the motion, he fell flat on his back.
Malak raised his weapon, preparing for a final blow... When out of nowhere, Sly dove in, spinning his cane and knocking Malak aside. With an incredible amount of agility, he then jumped up and around, lashing out at Akira with his leg. With her reflexes sharpened by her connection to the Dark side, however, she managed to catch it, and twisted it around into an ankle lock.
Unfortunately for her, Sly Cooper was an escape artist. He fluidly twisted with the motion, landing upright and unhurt. He then dived between Akira's legs. She was bent over nearly double before she could release her grip on the raccoon, barely managing to keep her balance. Unfortunately, Sly was still in complete control of himself, and he kicked out her knee as he spun out of the way. She fell to the ground, and Sly turned around just in time to block a blow from Malak.
The Sith lord was somewhat impressed. "You are much faster than you look, Sly Cooper. Perhaps you are a larger danger than I had originally anticipated. No matter." He spun around again, swinging with a sufficient amount of power to cleave a man's head from his shoulders...
...but Sly Cooper was no man, in this regard. He managed to duck underneath the attack, then motioned behind his opponent. "I may not be any matter for you, but he just might be." A somewhat confident, trustworthy smile crossed the raccoon's face.
Malak considered the implications of such a ruse... if it was, indeed, a ruse. For just a moment, he was tempted to ignore the warning and try to kill the scoundrel. However... he spun around, using both blades of his weapon at the same time, one swinging around to hit Sly, the other focusing on the now-standing Culex.
Unfortunately, neither hit connected. Sly took a nonchalant step backwards, whereas Culex blocked the blow with his sword. Malak was now, obviously, in a bad position: he was not as strong as Culex, nor as fast as Sly, and even his enhanced reflexes couldn't keep up with both of them at the same time...
...but he was willing to prove that wrong. He lashed out against Culex, then spun around with an easy grace to attack Sly. He then completed the rotation, attacking Culex once more: Sly was, of course, undamaged; whereas the second attack had taken Culex off his guard, scoring another hit.
However, Sly and Culex still had the upper hand. They attacked together, and while Malak was still fast enough, with his duellist training, to keep the worst of the hits from connecting, he still couldn't cover both of them. Far too often, for the Sith's taste, Culex would tie up his defense so that Sly could dash in, score a hit, and dash back out before Malak could attack him. While his armor was still providing a considerable amount of protection, even it couldn't hold out against the blows forever.
At one point, Sly Cooper managed to land another good hit on the back of Malak's right knee. Once again, the Sith lord fell to one knee, at Culex took that moment to use an overhead slash. Cooper, meanwhile, spun around and launched a horizontal hit to Malak's head...
...but both weapons were caught by Akira. She had dashed in with almost inhuman speed, and with both of her enemies' arms arrested, she spun them both around and flung them to the ground. Sly managed to land on his feet. Culex did not.
As he got back up, the Dark Knight muttered, "I see. So that was why he put you in the front ranks." A wave of his hand, and the Water Crystal came forward. "This should be more to your liking, then." As though on cue, the temperature began dropping. Sly wisely took this moment to get out of the way, because a wave of intense cold and snow washed over both Malak and Akira, chilling both of them to the bone.
Malak slowly flexed his arm. "How strange. A single Soldier and a Scoundrel are causing me more difficulty than I would have hoped. Very... disappointing." So saying, Malak raised his hand, and activated the Death Field.
The crystals, not having any sort of "body" to speak of, were unaffected. Culex, being "alive" but still made of crystal, was hurt, but not as much as he should have been. Sly was, of course, out of range, as he had seen something like that coming, and at any rate, he was planning a surprise of his own.
So why did Malak suddenly seem so much stronger? Every last one of his wounds were healed, and he twirled his stolen weapon with renewed vigor. "Just like the Star Forge... excepting a few noticeable details..."
It was at this moment that the world began to change. The golds and whites and "pure" colors began melting and changing, becoming black and red and grey. As well, the street bulged outward, and sharp spires erupted from the ground. One of them appeared right below Malak, but using his Force ability to balance himself, the Sith master simply allowed the spire to raise him far above the ground.
Akira and Culex, on the other hand, were still on the ground. She adopted her trademark stance, Dark energy crackling around her fingers. Culex nodded, and shifted to his unarmed attack. She dashed in... and launched into a her Haten Rengeki combo. Her first two hits were deliberately aimed high, and Culex blocked them easily. Her third was an overhanded palm strike, which Culex managed to absorb. The last, however, was a low roundhouse kick, which knocked Culex into the air. Akira attempted to follow up that attack with an underhanded chop... but Culex's hard exterior managed to absorb it, even with the momentum working against him. Akira lightly leapt back, and prepared for the next attack...
Meanwhile, Malak gazed down at the now-demonic city. His expression was blank and expressionless, as though he was lost in thought. While he was on one of the higher spires, it seemed like an entire temple had erupted from the ground beneath him, and there were numerous columns and smaller spires. That, and the fact that if he should fall, he would fall for several hundred feet before he hit the ground, barely registered.
What did, however, was that he was not alone. Sly Cooper was also balancing on one of the spires, and he jauntily raised his hat to the Sith lord. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"
Without a verbal response, Malak leapt to the attack, landing on the spire and slashing just as his target jumped to another one. "Now that's bad manners," the raccoon stated, "you're supposed to let me take a look at this area and find out a completely improbably yet highly stylish way to defeat you."
Malak could only shake his head, and raise his weapon at his target. "The first trick is finding a way to defeat me. After you find that, then you can try to make it stylish." Malak leapt once more, but this time, Sly intercepted him in mid-air. They exchanged one attack each, which negated each other, and they both landed on opposite spires.
Malak slowly turned around, his half-cloak billowing out in the ash-laden breeze. Sly shook his head slightly. "'Defeating you' always seems to be the hardest part..." |
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Peptuck Total Rat Bastard SOB

Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 583 Location: On Halo and loving it
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 3:28 am Post subject: |
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D +145 hours:32 minutes:20 seconds (SPARTAN 117 Mission Clock) / Hell
Batman flipped over a flying hand propelled by blood. Drizzt's scimitars sang a song against Jedah's scythe wings as the demon swept out at the agile drow. Blue plasma struck Jedah twice, in the chest and face, before the Master Chief had to curse and throw aside the spent Covenant weapon.
A batarang dove into the side of Jedah's head as the Master Chief scooped up his shotgun. Rather than reload and fire the spent weapon, however, John rushed forward, smashing the butt of the heavy weapon into Jedah's chest and knocking the demon back. Nearby, Drizzt tossed Icingdeath into the air, his free hand then flicking to his belt.
"Guenwhyvar!" Drizzt called, throwing out the onyx statue of the panther. Gray mist formed and the astral panther answered Drizzt's summons as he caught his blade. Jedah ripped out one of his biceps, launching acidic blood at Batman, who slipped around the self-destructive strike and planted a quartet of rapid-fire punches intot he demon's side. Jedah grimaced, his frown then growing wider as Drizzt stabbed both scimitars into the demon's back.
Jedah jabbed both hands into his chest suddenly, and tore his torso open, launching streams of blood. he then spun in place, the manuver forcing all three antagonists to duck, leap, or otherwise evade the streams of flying and very deadly blood erupting from the tears.
Drizzt rolled, landing near Batman.
"This does not look like it will be an easy victory," Batman warned his comrade even as the Master Chief started sliding new shells into his shotgun with blurring speed.
"Indeed, friend," Drizzt agreed.
"we can't win through brute force," Batman said, then slid out a set of Bat-bolas. drizzt understood the intent and nodded. At the same moment, Batman sent a short-ranged transmission over his personal radio, which Cortana caught and relayed to John.
"Hold your fire until I can restrain it!" Batman warned. Both Drizzt and the Chief understood; wounds they inflicted on Jedah would only make it harder for Batman to restrain the demon with his bolas.
Jedah, however, simply goiggled after regaining the initiative, and tore his wings off yet again, spinning them like a macebre scythe. He turned to the Master Chief, who had initiated this whole battle, and raised his scythe.
Sivx hundred pounds of black panther latched onto Jedah's upper body, claws gouging deep wounds into Jedah's body. the demon roared in suprised fry, then batted the panther off with his left arm. Guenwhyvar flew away, but not without taking part of Jedah's skin with her. Jedah then began to raise his scythe again when a cord wrapped around his upraised rigth arm, holding it fast. The demon looked up, confused, and at that moment took Icingdeath and Twinkle in the back of his neck and two shotgun blasts to the gut. Master Chief rushed forward, tossing aside his ballistic shotgun and whipping out the double wedge of the plasma sword. Drizzt cut twice more, this ime with icingdeath only, the freezing wounds preventing bloodshed. Dozens of tiny streams of blood shot from Jedah's gutshot belly, but the Master Chief ignored them as he chopped in with his plasma balde. Jedah roared and wriggled to counter atatck, but batman held his right arm fast.
So, instead of wasting time fighting with Batman, Jedah reached across with his left arm and tore his right free. With the tension on the cord suddenly lost, Batman fell back, suprised.
Jedah regrew his right arm while his left scratched a gouge in his back. Blood erupted, but Drizzt saw the attack coming and leaped away easily, long before the deadly crimson fluid could touch him.
Something blue in front of Jedah caught the demon's attention, and he looked forward at the Master Chief, expecting him to be attacking with the plasma sword. But instead of a sword, Jedah saw blue flames, the precursor to a Covenant plasma grenade's detonation. This grenade was on Jedah's chest.
Fifteen seconds later, Jedah had fully reformed, and was very pissed off.
However, those fiteen seconds had been enough for a new player to enter the field, and those fighting Jedah to formulate a plan. Jedah spun toward them, then paused, recognizing the newcomer from his meddlesome intrusions.
Nabeshin.
At that moment, however, Master Chief opened fire with his shotgun amd Batman launched a spary of sticky adhesive that covered the insane demon's chest. Jedah roared once more and ripped off a leg to wield as a club. Blood flew from Jedah like a fountian as drizzt circled and the Chief fired again. Nabeshin reached into his afro.
Jedah rushed forward, and then all went black.
Batman, Nabashin, and Master Chief acted with shocking speed as Jedah was momentarily blinded and confused by Drizzt's darkness globe. Bat grenades, plasma grenades, and frag grenades empowered by the might of the -fro- flew into the darkness globe, all sticking to Jedah's chest.
Nabeshin then reached into his -fro- once more, and took out a shimmering disc of multicolored ligths that made the onlookers bleed just looking at it. he held the disc like a frisbee, and with a single smooth motion flung it at the globe of shadow. Nabeshin was truly the Son of Macbauer, for his aim was true. the disc spun ove ronce as it reached the globe, then flipped over vertically, expanding in size to encompass the entire globe and the demon within.
An instant later, the globe vanished, giving Jedah complete vision, and he was truly suprised, for the disc that Nabeshin had thrown had been an extradimensional gate, which had transported Jedah directly back to his realm, into the very chamber where the Demon God awaited its birth. the gate closed just as Jedah Dohma realized what had happened.
Then the grenades exploded.
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And SHA-BAM! Perfectly corresponds with Jedah's intro, no less. Locke, if you read this and have a problem with Jedah's uh, heh, "demise" feel free to whack me in the head and have me edit this. _________________ "I need a copy of halo 2. im 14 and u know i play games all day so i can test it fo u. MeGanaXX"
Dearest MeGanaXX,
14 what? IQ points? Months? If you mean years, then we're doomed. Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation better have kept all those WW2 weapons, because they're going to have a battle on their hands when your Hatest Generation of functionally retarded Dew-guzzling molemen tries to take over the world with a combination of idiocy and poor penmanship.
~Letters to the Bungie Webmaster |
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:21 am Post subject: |
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Just a note, Pep, that kind of falls under the gratuitous death scene clause. Not the blowing up bit, as that's decidedly less than lethal for Jedah, but the sending him home can be considered a death scene.
If Locke's fine with it, I'm fine with it, though. It's a good post. |
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Moogle Hero in a Half-Pint

Joined: 28 Dec 2003 Posts: 149 Location: Maryland, USA
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:48 am Post subject: |
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It was the final battle - Keitaro could tell that because of what the Lord of Hell was saying, and also because the scenery suddenly changed to what he figured was a more Hell-appropriate backdrop. But it was the final battle and Keitaro was still stumbling around helplessly without even his glasses. Great champions of the world? Ha! Four great champions, maybe, and one Keitaro Urashima. What was Ralph thinking bringing him along, anyway? That ship already sailed, though; what was done was done. And now Keitaro was left to figure out his own way to survive, and just maybe help the other four companions to defeat the great demon. Or whatever he was. Or it. Or whatever.
"I believe these belong to you," a grave voice intoned from behind him. It sounded friendly, though, so Keitaro was not suspicious as he spun around.
He could not yet see who was standing there, but he could see a pair of glasses held in open palms. Quickly, he snatched them up before some sort of bad luck could befall him and he would end up on an entirely different plane of existence as the glasses or something.
The glasses slid onto his face and he looked at his benefactor. It was an old man, who looked to be a samurai-style fighter. He remembered seeing the man around the competition... Cyan was his name, and he was a knight. "Th-thank you, Sir Cyan."
The knight bowed deeply, even in spite of the great battle about to begin. "I live to serve, Keitaro Urashima."
Keitaro looked from Cyan, back to the Lord of Hell, to Cyan again. He saw Asuka and Nova and Shizumaru gearing up to fight the Lord of Hell, too, and then there was him, Keitaro Urashima, without any sort of fighting style, or even anything other than the strangest of luck and a clumsiness not soon matched...
Well, no, that was also not true. He also had the courage of a lion that, when he truly embraced it, also meant he had the brain of an ox. And that was one such time where he demonstrated both traits.
"Minna-san!" he belted, addressing all of them. "We need to find out what he can do. I will do it! Stand back and watch!"
So Keitaro Urashima, the unluckiest man in perhaps the entirety of the known universe, screaming like some kind of psychopath, ran headlong at the Lord of Hell in Hell itself.
Lacking experience with anyone like Keitaro Urashima (because indeed, there was none like Keitaro Urashima who came through his domain,) the Lord of Hell assumed it must have been a threat of some sort, and he began to unleash his assault upon the poor man.
Bolt Breath
The lizard head of the Lord of Hell reared back and unleashed a stream of lightning bolts at Keitaro, who at that precise moment tripped on a rock and rolled right underneath the blast, though his hair was standing up when he got up and dusted himself off.
It was, of course, no consequence to the Lord of Hell, who had plenty of other options.
Ice Breath
The lizard head reared back again and unleashed a cone of icy death at where Keitaro was last standing.
But Keitaro was no longer there, having been momentarily distracted because he saw nearby a skull with blood pouring out endlessly like it was some kind of fountain. Thanks to his time with Seta, he always was interested in bones and things of that sort.
One mortal could not possibly give the Lord of Hell this much trouble.
Fire Breath
This time the wave of fire washed over Keitaro and the Lord of Hell figured that was the end of that. And indeed it might have been to anyone who had not passed such a trial by fire as Keitaro, but in truth the Lord of Hell's fire breath was no worse than anything unleashed by one of the Mecha Tamagos created by Su. So Keitaro kept running, albeit a bit more charred and a bit slower.
But there was one more trick, at least, in the Lord of Hell's playbook. Perhaps he had underestimated this Keitaro Urashima before, when judging only the incompetence, but there was one trick up his sleeve - or whatever facsimile a greater demon of the underworld might possess - that he had used to dispatch countless pesky mortals over the eons of his existence.
Sabers
Faster than even lightning, the aforementioned sabers swept across the Lord of Hell's front and laser energy arced out around him in all directions.
There was no dodging that for Keitaro. The powerful attack slammed straight into him and sent him flying into a nearby wall. Blood spurted out when he hit it - not his own blood, but simply blood for scenery - and he slowly slid to the ground.
It was not any simple little injury that Keitaro was used to. He was bleeding, for real from a real nasty cut caused by that laser attack. His body ached all over, and he indeed felt like he could barely stand back up. And the Lord of Hell bore down on him in his moment of weakness.
He must have been dying, Keitaro realized, because in front of him he could see a visage of Naru Narusegawa in front of him. She was no less beautiful than the last time he remembered seeing her. And the visage was of her in her bedroom, kneeling down next to her futon, and praying for something. Her words, a bare whisper, floated to his ears.
"...bring him back safe, even though he's a stupid, ugly, perverted moron without any redeeming qualities, because it just wouldn't be the same..."
She was praying for him! For his safety. And here he was, dying. That, if anything, was the true luck of Keitaro Urashima.
"Naru... help... I love... you..."
The Lord of Hell's lizard heads prepared to unleash more of their breath upon Keitaro, but then the air around the useless fellow shimmered and sparkled, one pure white bastion amidst all of the doom and gloom that Hell could offer, and a blue crystal of some sort floated up out of the ground and came to a stop near Keitaro. Healing light began to wash over him.
Bolt Breath
Once again, lightning breath shot out of the lizard-head after it reared back, and this time it streaked straight at Keitaro. There would be no dodging it this time; the man was still lying on the ground receiving his healing.
The lightning bolts, however, were absorbed entirely by the blue crystal, the Wind Crystal, and only accelerated Keitaro's healing.
Keitaro stood back up, as surprised as anyone that he was still alive, but as far as he was concerned he was just the beneficiary of nothing short of a divine miracle. And indeed, he was right.
"Not even the darkest pits of hell are too far for miracles! I may not be able to fight, and I may not have any techniques, but I have a will to live that is stronger than your desire to kill me!" His focus shifted suddenly from the Lord of Hell and he looked straight up. "Naru! I love you, and I will come back to you!" Keitaro turned back to the demon and gave the meanest glare he'd ever given. "I AM KEITARO URASHIMA, AND I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"
"We shall see," was all the Lord of Hell said.
Then the real battle began. _________________
Thanks to Switchblade for sig and avatar |
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Helmar Brilliant Reflection

Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 67 Location: Cephiro
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:25 am Post subject: |
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She blinked in astonishment as she watched Keitaro rush at the Lord of Hell, being electrocuted, frozen, fried, and sliced by lasers in rapid succession. She began hurling a spell to try to save him, feeling Cyan do the same…only to watch a crystal fly at Keitaro, absorbing another bolt of lighting directed at him.
Love
Hikaru embracing her…Shizumaru standing over her prone for, guarding her as Malak stepped into view…
Nova let the Healing Wind flow away from her, healing the wounds of her friends as it disappeared. She felt Cyan prepare as well; Haste enhancing Shizumaru’s already unbelievable speed, Protect settling in place around Keitaro, Shell enclosing Asuka, Regen flowing through Nova herself.
“One,” Cyan said with a steady voice as he set his blade, Yuzurenai Negai’s gentle blue glow a stark contrast to the orange-red lighting of the battlefield.
Peace
Cephiro returned to its former beauty…Cyan’s smile as Wrexsoul had been destroyed, at peace with himself once more…
Asuka nodded to Nova and they left the ground, hovering level with the Lord of Hell. Even a tiny bit of height was an advantage in a fight, and every one of the fighters knew their opponent was deadly enough without anything else working in his favor. The Lord of Hell only smirked, unimpressed.
“Two,” Asuka said as his Alter formed his sword, green crystal glinting in the flames surrounding the battlefield.
Honor
Asuka rushing towards her on the Thames, heedless of his own danger…Keitaro, shirt over his head, not content to sit still as events whirled around him…
Nova whispered silently at the fighters prepared to join the battle in earnest. “I fight…for myself.”
“THREE!” the Lord of Hell shouted as he swept his sword across the battlefield, a brilliant light adding yards to its length. Asuka deflected the blow lower as he flew higher, then Cyan’s blade quickly followed to drive the longsword into the ground. Nova vanished as the glow around it began to fade…but it didn’t fade fast enough to keep Shizumaru from leaping atop it and actually running over it.
The Lord of Hell hastily glided back, unleashing a massive cone of flames at Shizumaru. The swordsman simply leapt into the air, gliding over the flames before landing on the blade once more. The Murasama swept in, slicing into the Lord of Hell’s shoulder before he could dodge away.
He floated back, hurling Shizumaru off the blade…just as a Ruby Inferno washed over him as Nova attacked from behind the demon. The Lord of Hell turned to swing at Nova, only to be forced to parry a Quadraslice from Cyan. Using the Kasumi sword technique, he managed to block all four attacks. His eyebrows raised as he barely parried a strike from Keitaro’s sword of lightning, then winced in pain as a jade arrow pierced his flesh from above.
The Lord of Hell roared, angered more at his own inability to avoid their hits than any injury they may have caused. He unleashed a MegaWindblast, destructive energy hurling the five fighters away from him. A Healing Wind gusted through the battlefield from Nova as she picked herself off the ground, seeing the others do the same.
“Nova! Wrexsoul!” Asuka shouted. Nova nodded, she hadn’t been the only one to notice what the Lord of Hell had said. Nova disappeared; almost as one the four remaining fighters unleashed attacks at the Lord of Hell. He took minor injuries from the attacks, but never noticed their true purpose…
…as Nova struck the distracted demon from behind, fading from view once more. She could feel…four?! minds for a brief moment…then reappeared on the battlefield, flying through the air to strike one of the pillars with a sickening crunch. She slid down the iron tower slowly, world fading to darkness. The world brightened again as she felt warmth envelop her, product of a Life cast by Cyan.
Nova slowly stood up while setting the Proof in place, ready to change tactics. She was actually heartened by the demon’s reaction; for just a moment, for the barest of instants, she had felt his hold slipping on the mage’s body before reasserting itself.
The ground beneath them actually trembled as the Lord of Hell shouted at the fighters. “You really think I would fall to a pathetic mortal trick like that?!”
And once more the five fighters entered the fray… _________________
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:02 am Post subject: |
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Due to circumstances beyond my control (Mainly nearly falling over from lack of sleep), the stage ending time is extended by 8 hours from the original projected end time, making it, uh, 8 PM my time, or a full 12 hours until end. I think. Basic math is oddly not my strong suit, and I have virtually no sense of time. |
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Seril Eternity Eight

Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 181 Location: Lost Ground
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:09 am Post subject: |
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Lord of Hell laughed at the five champions, "Humor me mortals. This is getting fun!"
Asuka nodded to the other champions, and then closed his eyes. The ground he was floating under began to be covered by a glittering green crystal. Meanwhile, Nova and Cyan began focusing their magic. The crystal now covering the entire area, glittered with a light that seemed to counter Hell itself.
Asuka opened his eyes, and shot a hand in the direction of Lord of Hell. The crystal underneath him grew and rapidly encased him in a prison of jade. Taking the cue, Keitaro and Shizumaru dashed at Lord of Hell, swords posed to strike.
Nova and Cyan finished their magics. The crystal around Lord of Hell cracked a little. Nova released a Ruby Inferno at him. The crystal cracked a little more. Cyan pointed towards Lord of Hell, saying, "Fire 2!" as a large fireball merged with Nova's Ruby Inferno.
Keitaro and Shizumaru dashed behind Lord of Hell, and lept at him, swords ready. Just as everything was about to land, time seemed to slow down.
What first happened was Asuka recoiling, yelling out to his friends, "Get away! He's breaking out!" It was too late. The crystal then shattered, revealing Lord of Hell in all of his infernal glory.
He grinned and just said one word, "Overdrive." Light encased him, then within the timespan of a second he managed to land a blow on Shizumaru and Keitaro, sending them flying backwards into their pillars. He then seemed to teleport next to Asuka, picking him up and throwing him right at Nova, colliding with a crunch. Pointing as Cyan, he muttered another incantation, "Implosion." Cyan was surrounded by a crushing vortex, forcing him to the ground in agony.
Lord of Hell just stayed in his spot, levitating, surverying his work as each of the champions slowly recovered. Cyan shouted to his friends, "We need a new plan of attack!" Everyone nodded, Lord of Hell laughing and waiting for their next attempt. _________________

Last edited by Seril on Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:19 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Dry Seeker of Power

Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 116 Location: Seeking Power
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:24 am Post subject: |
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Meanwhile, as Geese Howard wandered around, the Heaven he was in suddenly melted into...Hell. The Overlord, surprised, frowned...then he smiled that icy smile again.
"This is more like it."
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Geese is wandering around Hell. Feel free to interact with him if you wish. _________________ Luna
THE PLACE
http://pub88.ezboard.com/bluna83999 |
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Moogle Hero in a Half-Pint

Joined: 28 Dec 2003 Posts: 149 Location: Maryland, USA
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:49 am Post subject: |
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"Fools! You think you can defeat me, no matter what you do? I have not even unleashed a fraction of my power!" The laughter of the Lord of Hell shook everything. Geysers of blood sprung up everywhere as he laughed, and fire shot out of holes in the ground. All around them the environment seemed to respond to the ill will of the lord of that domain. "Behold!"
Amidst the commotion and the cacophany, a large, dark robed figure carrying a wicked scythe emerged from one of the holes in the ground. "Death!" the Hell Mage cackled.
What it was, or how, Keitaro did not know. He did not know that it was one of the Amethyst-spells, that it was Arcane magic that literally summoned the Major Arcana XIII Death. All he knew was what he could see. The Reaper of Souls had ascended and he took aim at the companions.
With wicked, transcendent laughter, Death floated towards the knight, Cyan. Doma's sole surviving retainer slashed out but could not hit the ethereal figure. Death reached out with a finger and touched Cyan, who collapsed to the ground.
In turn the same happened to Nova, and Asuka, and then Shizumaru, as well, all helpless to the attack.
Death came last to Keitaro, figuring him to be the weakest, the least threatening, and the easiest to dispatch. The Lord of Hell's laughter rang out in the background, and Keitaro could hear little else. Death reached out to touch him, too, and then...
Nothing happened.
Keitaro looked down.
Death's finger was stopped by something that was hanging from Keitaro's neck. The Quartz Charm! he realized. The charm that the Vandan Knight, Culex, had given him, because the future version of himself in some other reality had beaten the great knight. And now it saved his life.
Wailing futilely, Death fell back into the ground, and then it was only Keitaro and the Lord of Hell.
Sabers
The laser beam sword shot out again, at Keitaro, and he figured he was a goner, as there was no way to block it this time, no way he could fight the Lord of Hell by himself... he closed his eyes and prepared for the end.
It did not come.
"Myuh!"
He opened his eyes and saw two things.
The first was Tama-chan, floating there in midair, who had blocked the saber attack between her two front paws.
The second was white light around Cyan Garamonde, who protected himself with Life 3 before he fell. Then, in turn, Nova, and Asuka, and Shizumaru were surrounded by that same white light, and revived.
The fighters stood back up and surrounded the Lord of Hell yet again, arranging a pentagon around him. Barely, they had survived the death attack. But was that the worst that the Lord of Hell had to offer, or could he unleash still stronger attacks? And how were they going to defeat him, if he had limitless power to assault them so?
These were things they did not have time to stop to think about, because there was only the battle for survival. _________________
Thanks to Switchblade for sig and avatar |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1202 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 10:20 am Post subject: |
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Shiz pwned Hell.
--
(Sorry 'bout that, you four, my internet died there. ^__^;) |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 452 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 11:56 am Post subject: |
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Cyan Garamonde – 7/5
No Lullaby
The azure knight wished he were dreaming this time. Unfortunately, he was not. The five contestants surrounded the Lord of Hell in his own domain – which, in turn, had changed back to its true form, a truly wicked place to be indeed -, and he laughed as the redheaded samurai lunged towards him, his Muramasa carving an arc in the foul air as he swung. Cyan followed suit, leaping towards their enemy at great speed - at the same time casting Haste spells on the rest of the group. The sound of metal-on-metal echoed through the iniquitous room as, surprisingly enough, the Lord of Hell parried both attacks with one swift motion, and spun around, first hitting Shizumaru with the hilt of his sword – that hovered a few inches above his hand, just like him himself hovered a few inches above the floor – and then Cyan, opening a rather big gash on the azure knight’s arm.
Cyan felt his body being lifted as Lord of Hell unleashed another of his spells, Vermillion Sand and he, along the others, was thrown high in the air – Cyan hit one of the room’s walls, and blood poured from it as he did. The others faced the same fate, and were slowly getting back up to face their enemy, and two jets of fire flew towards the devil, swirling in the air until they combined, forming a massive torrent of fire that, when it hit, produced a rather large burst of flames.
The devil simply shrugged Nova’s spell and laughed as the girl sped towards him, swinging her two swords high above her head, assisted by Keitaro, who was trying his best not to get in the way of everybody else, but doing a good job with his lightning sword – the boy had talent, Cyan thought, as he too ran towards the demon.
The old knight was physically and mentally exhausted from the previous battles – and his two Espers were too wounded to be of any assistance; Alexander had attacked himself to defeat Cyan’s shadow clone and Maduin needed time to heal after being struck by Alexander’s Judgment – and he felt his magic power dwindling as the group fought, having to cast several spells in several different people at once. His magical skill was nothing when compared with the Lord of Hell’s, especially now that he had taken over the body of the most powerful mage of this world – and Cyan was hardly the strongest in his own world. It did not help that his enemy was also a very skilled swordsmen as well, which only made things more and more difficult for the old warrior.
Cyan and Shizumaru struck at the same time – followed by Asuka and Keitaro. The Yuzurenai Negai was quickly stopped by the devil’s blade, but the Muramasa managed to cut a small gash on his side. The others struck as blood poured from the devil’s body, first, the lightning blade, followed by Asuka’s jade crystal sword – and followed by yet another spell from Nova, a large blast of red-tinged electricity that flew towards the devil’s chest. Lord of Hell spun around – first, he swung his blade in a wide sweep, hitting both Shizumaru and Cyan, sending them hurdling back, then, with the hilt of his sword, hit Keitaro several times while avoiding a second blow him the boy’s lightning sword and used the boy’s body against the Alter user to block his next attack. The demon, however, wasn’t prepared for Nova’s attack, and had barely noticed the young girl until her twin swords bit into his back, carving two identical gashed on his clothes and reptilian flesh.
The demon growled in pain as he turned around and grabbed the girl’s neck with his free hand and lift her rather small body – when compared to him, at least – a few feet above the floor. Nova struggled to free herself from the demon wicked grasp that chocked her, desperately attacking him with her swords as the air inside her lungs was slowly taken away from her. The demon raised his sword to finish her off – but was stopped as the Yuzurenai Negai met his blade with a loud clang. Nova gasped for air as the demon let go of her neck, focusing his attention on Cyan.
The demon swung his blade forward to meet the azure knight’s neck, but the Yuzurenai Negai blocked it and the Returner spun around and struck forward, biting into reptilian flesh as he did. The strike, however, was not a complete success, as the demon, in turn, had pierced through his armor with his own blade. Cyan spat blood as he removed his blade from the demon’s body and ducked to the side for another slash. The demon quickly parried Cyan’s strike and shot forward, blade aiming for the knights heart – and it almost hit, weren’t for Keitaro’s help as the young man’s lightning blade blocked the demon’s attack.
The demon simply laughed, and swung his blade around, easily getting rid of Keitaro and motioned his other arm in the air, and the battlefield was filled with a blinding light and scorching flames and burst outwards towards the group.
Mega Wind-Blast.
Cyan screamed in pain as the blasts of solar energy scorched his skin and his body flew back several feet until it landed on the blood-covered floor. The flames died down, followed by silence – broken by the devil’s wicked laughter, that echoed through his unholy chambers, barely noticing the green and white light that surrounded his opponents and when Cyan slowly got up as his wounds slowly closed back (the only thing that denounced them were the several gashes in his once blue armor, now red from the blood that poured from the walls and floor). The others were slowly getting up as well – surprisingly enough, Keitaro hadn’t lost his glasses again nor they had melted after the demon’s spell. They were all very weak, however, but there was little for them to do other than keep attacking the demon until either side came out victorious. The Lord of Hell laughed as he saw that his opponents were not quite dead yet.
Dragon.
Cyan sped towards the demon and rose his blade high above his head – the Yuzurenai Negai emitted a gentle blue blow, reflecting the azure knight’s resolve – and he slashed. At the same time, the demon motioned his hands, creating a translucent shield around him, preparing for the azure knight’s rather suicidal attack.
Glass Shield.
Cyan leapt to the air regardless and uncountable shards of glass flew as the blade connected to the shield – but Cyan continued to thrust his sword against the demon, regardless of the pain he felt as the myriad of shards bit into his skin and the Yuzurenai Negai tore the demon’s reptilian skin apart. The Lord of Hell growled in pain after the knight’s reckless attack and swung his sword forwards, hitting Cyan on the stomach the back of his blade, sending Cyan back for several feet. The azure knight smiled, though, as he had managed to do what his wanted – his Dragon technique not only injured his enemies, but also helped to heal Cyan’s own body, helping to replenish some of his magical and physical power, as well as healing some lighter injuries – and readied his sword again for another strike – as did the others. Nobody was willing to give up just now and, once again, all attacked in unison. _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..."
Many thanks for SlicedBread for the picture! |
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Kyo Little Faith

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 474 Location: Indefinite
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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Akira took a Force-empowered leap backwards after ending her combination attack on Culex, finding that most of her direct blows had little effect on the crystalline warrior. Furthermore, due to his abrasive and hardened surface, she had been forced to temper most of her attacks with at least a little chi in order to prevent her own hands from being damaged--if she hadn't been wearing the gloves, she was fairly sure that her hands would be rather raw by now.
Her eyes watched the amethyst-like being get back to his feet as she quickly made an extended appraisal of the situation. It was obvious that from her brief previous experiences, fighting Culex would be an undertaking that her Master would have more endurance with, if only because of her own inability to deal with the blasts of elemental force those crystals occasionally gave out. However, she definitely had the edge in physical combat--even if dealing with his body constantly required no less than a superhuman effort--and his superior mass and strength made the battle much easier. In fact, if she could deal with those crystals in some manner, her chances of winning would likely rise from indeterminate to favorable.
Much easier said than done. I have no doubts that my Master can deal with that thief, but his abnormally high reflexes and agility will likely cause complications... I can't expect assisstance anytime soon.
Her mind racing for ideas and pounding with frustration, Akira broke out into a circular-formation sprint around the Dark Knight of Vanda, seeking an opening. Instead of seeing one, she saw the Earth Crystal spin into life as electricity wrapped around the gem, which then fired at the recently-initiated Sith Apprentice. However, the trajectory of the orb was quite misaligned due to Akira's strafing speed, and created an opportunity for her as she dashed right past it to the source. Culex moved in the way, however, and she was forced to change tactics. Her arms flew towards the 'ankles' of the crystalline warrior, managing to uproot one of his legs before his balanced arm crashed into her stomach, sending her flying away. The Earth Crystal took this opportunity to drive up the winds around here into a second Sand Storm, to which the Sith Apprentice responded to by putting down her visor and zipping up her biker uniform completely. The attack that had caused some minor damage to her before was negated due to her equipment's resistance, and she regained her footing with ease.
Irritating... but I can handle this on my own. Imagine the look on his face were he to come down and see this formidable being defeated by my hands alone!--I'll do it.
Tossing the self-gratifying thought away, Akira switched her mind into analysis again as she moved in for another attack. Culex was the first to strike this time, however, making a diagonal slash with his weapon towards the former biker's ribcage. Akira tuned into her own instincts and the power of the Dark Side, and was able to find the proper angle with which to angle her right hand to nullify the attack's effectiveness. As her gloved hand parried the sword's attack, Akira then used the Dark Knight's momentum against him yet again to propel her body into midair in a technique similar to when she had fought Drizzt, slamming both steel-laced boots of hers into the crystal warrior's face. Culex immediately responded not with his own body, but with the Water Crystal as the gem blew her out of position with a hail of ice crystals.
Akira slid backwards as she regained her footing yet again, knowing that while she had scored another direct hit she had failed to drive up enough force behind it to really cause significant damage. It's almost impossible to drive up that much Force or Chi in the middle of trading attacks, though. I'd have to stop using Tai Chi, which means I might be done for if he lands a direct hit.
Culex did not appear to desire to give her any more time to come up with a battle strategy. His three crystals shone with white light as he mustered up one of his strongest attacks; a Dark Star materialized into the immediate airspace above Akira, proceeding to plummet down at her with intense destructive force.
No time to dodge... I can't stop an attack of that magnitude by my own base skill... Then, I will...
Akira tapped into the Dark Side of the Force fully even as she drove up her chi levels to maximum. The feeling of energy running all over her body while the Dark Side danced and consumed her soul with passion from within was euphoric; she would have quickly gotten dazed and light-headed if she hadn't opted to concentrate all that pure energy into her right palm, body tensing up to perform her most formidable attack to counter the force of the Dark Star.
"Hissatsu: Gou-Kikouken," she intoned with an indescribable tone of negativity as she brought her palm forwards and let the Dark Side energies and her own spiritual energies rip outwards of her in a entwined mix of raw power. The dark-violet beam of energy crashed into the enormous ball of flame and destruction instantly; the clashing forces creating a deafening roar as they constested against each other for dominance. The air around Culex and Akira quickly became ionized, and was blasted upwards towards where Cooper and and Malak were likely fighting. _________________

Last edited by Kyo on Sun Jun 13, 2004 4:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Procyon Raccoon Master Thief

Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 244 Location: Socorro, NM
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 1:55 pm Post subject: 7-3 |
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Sly balanced on his toes atop the spire, taking in his surroundings. Black clouds of ash billowed far overhead in an ochre-red sky, and rivers of fire and blood coursed along the ground. Far below stood an immense, low temple of brick and clay and bone; flaming pillars and needle-like spires of black rock rose from its roof haphazardly, while at its center stood a gleaming gold dome, reflecting in its polished surface the flickering intensity of the fires all around them.
Malak, poised on an opposite spire, growled and launched himself again towards the thief, his blade swinging in a powerful arc, but Sly deftly leapt backwards, swinging around 180 degrees in the air to execute a perfect landing on the point of another of the narrow stone needles.
"You are far more trouble than a little pest such as you is worth," Malak hissed as he struggled to stand up on the narrow object..
Sly shrugged, and grinned. "Does that mean you're giving up, then?"
Malak laughed. "Give up? Me?"
"Hey, why not? Maybe fighting's not the life for you. You know... with that funky bald head and your lightning tricks, I'm sure you could get a great job at the circus. You can even get skull-girl down there to join your act."
Malak growled. "Now you are just beginning to annoy me, creature!" Outstretching his left hand, a torrent of forked white lightning bolts leapt forth in Sly's direction, but again Sly was with little trouble able to leap away, landing on the dome of the temple - and Malak quickly followed suit, landing in a crouching position a short distance from the thief.
"Enough of this," he cried. "We shall end this here!"
Then, with a sudden motion, Malak outstretched an open hand, and suddenly Sly felt as if a massive ring had clamped around his neck. The raccoon fell to his knees, wheezing and gasping as his rival closed in, holding the one hand aloft while raising the Twin Sword in his other hand, preparing for the killing blow.
But at that moment, there was a sudden blast of scorching wind from below, and Malak's concentration broke slightly as he steeled himself against the blast - and at that instant, the raccoon seized the opportunity and leapt directly at his aggressor, cane bursting into flames as he crashed it into the Jedi with a loud cracking noise. The strike was followed up with a backhand, and another forehand strike as Sly, ignoring the searing winds, unleashed a flurry of assaults with the magically enhanced weapon while Malak stumbled backwards, burdened down by his heavy weapon and unable to defend himself against the assault - until Sly, his light frame leaving him vulnerable to the screaming wind, suddenly lost his hold on the dome and was carried up into the roaring current.
Malak snarled - and leapt into the air after him. _________________
Description 1: Police Dossier
Description 2: The Thievius Raccoonus Online
Chapter 0: Return to Paris 0-1 0-2
Chapter 4: The Red Menace 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7
Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-8 5-9 5-10
Chapter 6: The Jack of Diamonds 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Chapter 7: Seventh Hell 7-1 7-2 7-3 7-4
Current Location: Hell, swept into the air |
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AsylumXKP ...Back again

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 647 Location: Still Drunk!
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 1:58 pm Post subject: |
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Another demon fell into a pool of blood, knocked back by Conker's shotgun. A red dot appeared on the blue demon's forehead as Conker cocked his shotgun. A lethal blast and the demon was beheaded. The squirrel raised the barrel up to his mouth and blew away the smoke.
"Eat that!" taunted Conker to the corpse. Another demon appeared behind Conker, ready to rend him to shreds with massive claws. Before the demon could do so however, Nabeshin riddled the beast with machine gun fire. Conker turned around to see a demon fall down.
"What did I tell you about watching your back?"
"NABESHIN!" cried out Conker.
Years ago, in the jungles of Hogata...
In the midst of a jungle, a group of six soldiers were resting from a four days march. Conker was there, and drank from his canteen. He was dressed in a torn olive drab uniform, and a green headband. His fur was messy and mangy, indicating he's been here for a quite a while.
Near him was Nabeshin, also in a similar olive drab uniform, though his was still looking brand new and clean, as if he hasn't been in the jungle for months. Nabeshin pulled out a canteen from his fro' which was shining from the small traces of sun.
Conker put away his canteen and pulled out a shotgun. He took out a small cleaning kit and jabbed the pipe cleaner into the barrel. Tilting the shotgun downward, mud, muck, and other objects spilled out of it.
"Well, this shotgun's done." said Conker chucking the useless weapon to the side. Nabeshin walked over to Conker and sat near him.
"Hey Conker, great work back there!" Nabeshin playfully punched Conker in the arm.
"Thanks. Though you deserve the credit, I mean you did save my butt back there."
"Anytime, it's the code of the Hell Ninja Commando!" shouted Nabeshin. The other five soldiers raised a fist in the air and hooted.
"Although I am ahead on kills now." Conker smiled.
"What? You mean you just beat my record of 10,234 soldiers, 445 tanks, 17 Jets, 3 Oliphants, and one submarine?" Nabeshin was suprised.
"10,234 soliders, 445 tanks, 17 jets, 3 Oliphants... And a battleship."
"A battleship huh? It only counts as one you know."
Conker shrugged.
"What happened to your shotgun?" pointed Nabeshin.
"Oh, that. Well it was when we running from those soldiers that ambushed us in the swamp. Gun's jammed up beyond repair."
"I see. Here, you can use mine." Nabeshin pulled out a 12 gauge from his afro.
"How'd you--"
"What?"
"But, your afro is only THIS big..." Conker put his hands over his head to mimic an afro's size. "And the shotgun is THIS big!" Conker expanded his hand out to the length of the shotgun. "That's against physics if you ask me."
"It's not the 'fro." said Nabeshin. He demonstrated this by pulling out another shotgun from his jacket pocket. "It's simply getting the right thing at the right time."
Conker paused. "Huh?"
"Look, it's easy! All you have to do is search though the pocket... or 'fro in your mind. Feel the object you want with your hand... Then take it out."
"That easy huh? Let me try..." Conker reached behind his back. "AHA!" he shouted, pulling out a rubber dog bone.
Nabeshin laughed. "You need some practice, but you have the basics down!"
"Thanks!"
Conker snapped back to reality. "I'm suprised to see another Hell Ninja Commando."
"Likewise! I see you've gotten better." said Nabeshin. "Have you seen Manny around these days?"
"Manny..." Conker drooped his head. "He... He's dead."
Nabeshin frowned. He put a hand on Conker's shoulder and consoled him.
"He was a great man."
"But we can't let the past stop us." said Conker getting back up to his feet. "Manny wouldn't want us crying over him. He'd want us to be strong."
Nabeshin nodded.
"Come on, let's get us some more demons, and show them what a Hell Ninja Commando is capable of!" _________________
With less suckage than Revolutions! |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1202 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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Hisame Shizumaru – 7:5
Whatever trials he had gone through before, this was turning out to be one of the most physically exhausting. Shizumaru’s body was pushed to its limits by the power of the Muramasa, as it forced him to continue on despite the injuries he had taken in the pursuit of its lifeline; blood. The five of them against the Lord of Hell was just barely enough to hold him off – and while the others might’ve thought that the battle was going to be impossible to win, Shizumaru could sense that the Lord’s power was beginning to wane, after casting so many spells against them. If they were going to finish him off, they had to draw out more magic from him in order to manage to get near him...
Cyan had been with Shizumaru before he noticed that the samurai had disappeared into thin air – but it wasn’t hard to figure out where he was, even if he couldn’t see him. The Haste spells had been able to boost his speed to the point where not even the Lord of Hell could see him if he ran as fast as he could – fast enough that the ground under Shizumaru’s feet nearly exploded seconds after he had passed over that area. Cyan could tell where he had been, but where he was; well, that was something else entirely. His thoughts were half-frantic, trying to decide whether to fight or flee – not that he was afraid to face the Hell Lord, not in the least; but rather that he wasn’t sure if he could risk coming across Shizumaru’s path as he flew towards the evil before them. Finally, he decided to make a break for it, and pushed his legs to carry him forward to the reptilian demon – not necessarily to initiate any kind of serious attack against him, but more to let Shizumaru have the distraction he needed in order to attack.
Asuka had been kneeling there at the side, clutching his bleeding abdomen in pain; one that had been hit by the Sabers more than he’d predicted and something he couldn’t dodge. As he looked on, though, seeing the explosions from Shizumaru’s speed and Cyan rushing forward, Asuka bit his lip, taking up his jade crystal sword and deciding to follow – what else could happen? The memories of his past traveled into his mind, convincing him as nothing else could to persevere forward... for if they did not defeat this demon now, who else would be dead? What would he have to return to? He hadn’t accepted Ralph’s invitation to stand by on the sidelines – so nor would he now. He was starting to catch up to Cyan, stopping for Shizumaru’s explosions to die down before he proceeded, and when the two of them linked up, Cyan caught his attention with a nod, and threw another spell onto him; Cure2, healing the blows dealt to his abdomen. Asuka tightened the grip on his sword, and – as his head turned slightly, he barely managed to catch Shizumaru in his eye, and what he saw there frightened him.
Eyes once as gentle as a healing touch had turned darker than the Hell Lord’s soul itself.
Keitaro Urashima, for his part, was groping about once again for his glasses – in his last rush against the Hell Lord with his lightning sword, not only had he been torn down easier than a prom dress, but he had, once again, lost the familiar black frames. It wasn’t getting any better as he noticed the explosions rushing towards him, and he yelled out, springing away to duck for cover – but when they passed and subsided, Keitaro felt something lightly fall on his back. When he sat up and felt around for what had hit him, his hands found his glasses, and though he put them on with a small cheer, he stopped, looking at the lens – which had gotten kanji painted on them, in blood. He read it out loud, confused by it at first – "... Scarlet rain?" He put two and two together, though, and realized that it was Shizumaru running like that, too fast that he couldn’t hope to see where he was... but slow enough to make sure he didn’t run over something so important to him. Keitaro smiled, pulling himself up to his feet, and holding his fist up proudly – "I will not let you down! Any of you!" With those words, Keitaro too began his descent towards the Lord of Hell... though what the hell he was doing, throwing his life into danger again and again, he couldn’t fathom – all he knew was that it was right, and that he would not be left behind again.
Nova was prepared to burst after the Lord of Hell herself, but to her shock, he was coming after her instead, propelling himself towards her as she struggled to stand and run away to defend herself. She stopped, even though he was still hurtling towards her, and threw out her hands, screaming, "Ruby Inferno!!" The jets of flame shot from her hands, twining around the Lord of Hell and circling above his head, ready to come down in a final blast – but he held up his sword above his head to absorb the spell (to Nova’s horror) and drew his head down, his tongue slithering in and out of his mouth. "It can’t be – how could you – " she gasped, her knees locked in fear... how could he have avoided it like that? Her eyes saw Cyan, Asuka, and Keitaro rushing towards the Hell Lord, but they wouldn’t reach her in time, nobody would – only Shizumaru could’ve been fast enough and he wasn’t there and her scream rang out as the Lord’s Sabers flashed forward in an arc –
When Nova opened her eyes, she expected her body to be cut in half, but no such thing had happened. She put a hand to her head, moaning at the slight headache she had gotten, and realized that someone was holding her safely away from the Lord of Hell... and if her instincts were right – "Shizumaru!" she looked up, hoping to find peace in the moment in the gentle eyes she had adored –
Her heart nearly stopped. Those eyes had been washed away.
It wasn’t even that he had covered her that had saved her from imminent death – but the next thing that nearly sent her heart to failure was what had. Just as if Ameki had awakened, wings had burst out of his skin, flaring out in bloody tangles of feathers to protect her (Nova noted that the samurai himself was covered in blood, which in turn, had smeared onto her... but she was beyond caring). Nova craned her neck up to look at Shizumaru’s face, trying to tell herself that he hadn’t changed, and that his eyes were the same eyes that could tell her all that she ever needed to know... but they were gone, replaced with a haunting, stern, and bloodlusting glare. She reached up to touch his cheek, where his cut from his fight against the clone still bled, and whisked her finger across it, tying together the flesh into a thin scar. His eyes fell soft for not even a flicker of a second, but even so, with her simple touch, Nova knew that Shizumaru – the kind young man who had kept her safe, even in control of the Muramasa’s curse. Even though the thought that he might kill her did pass through her mind, she held to him tightly, as his head turned to the Lord of Hell behind him – who, for the reptilian demon’s part, had suddenly gone rigid, now that he knew Shizumaru truly intended to kill him.
"Fire Breath!" he shouted, and an explosion of flame burst from his mouth, hurtling towards Shizumaru and Nova... but the bloody wings protected them, absorbing the entire spell, as Nova held on to him even more tightly. The Hell Lord’s teeth were bared, seeing as how the spell had had absolutely no effect in the least, and he decided to try a different one this time – "Ice Breath!" Just as before, though, the ice was sucked toward Shizumaru’s wings, drawing them away from the two in their unusual embrace, and only strengthening Shizumaru more. The Hell Lord tried the Bolt Breath, not even looking behind him to see Asuka, Cyan, and Keitaro running towards him, their swords all prepared to attack – all he was focused on was hitting Shizumaru and Nova with every spell he could pull out, but none of it worked, so long as Shizumaru had his wings up and out. He growled, about to pull out another blast of the Sabers, and swept his sword to the side, creating the arc – which knocked down the three behind him, but as for Shizumaru and Nova, it did hit them... but not in the fashion that the Lord of Hell had expected.
Nova was flung to the ground by Shizumaru, who had turned on his heel with the Muramasa bared out in order to attack. The Sabers cut across his abdomen, spilling out another rash of blood, but Shizumaru couldn’t feel a shred of pain, due to the sword’s influence – he simply kept charging forward at the Lord of Hell, even as the Sabers cut into him deeper and deeper. The Hell Lord was so taken back by the rashness that his reaction time to Shizumaru’s attack against him was far too slow – the Muramasa slashed hard down his front, leaving a diagonal gash in his chest, though he did manage to parry the stab, knocking the blade to the side. It wasn’t nearly enough to dissuade the blade’s wielder, however, as it came back for another slash, despite the injuries and bleeding.
Shizumaru broke into the god-like speed again, hurtling around the Hell Lord faster than anyone could see – explosions sparked up a second after he had stepped in a spot, and he stabbed at the Lord from all directions, enough to where the Lord had been forced to kneel down. The demon hunter skidded to a stop, helping up Asuka to his feet, and turned back to the Lord with the same cold, furious eyes. "I promised I would protect her," Shizumaru spoke in his hoarse whisper. "I promised... and I swear I will do anything for her sake. This blade is giving me its own way to lead me to that. I refuse to allow you to live."
"Humans," the Lord of Hell spat out blood, wiping his mouth. "Stubborn as pigs and minded just the same! It doesn’t matter how fast you are, or how strong you are, or how powerful you can become... you can never defeat me; never! I will not allow it!!"
"Human," Shizumaru smiled darkly. "That... I am not."
The Hell Lord’s eyes widened, as the five of them all stood to the ground, clutching weapons and wounds, all fixed on the Lord, who still hovered above the ground (albeit a fair shade lower than he did before). Shizumaru stepped forward, holding out the Muramasa (which by now was literally covered in thick blood), and spreading out his bloodied wings to their full span.
"Humans may not be able to kill you," he whispered, "... but I can."
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Evil Shiz. D:! _________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . Credo quia absurdum non credere. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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San Draco Elven High Wizard

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 913 Location: Faerun
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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Malak leapt after his opponent, his grasp of the Force allowing him to remain stabilized in the ionized air. Just to be on the safe side, Malak activated his Master Speed, his increased dexterity matching even the thief's. In a few moments, he had caught up with Sly, then lashed out with his twin blade. As was expected, Sly blocked the blow with his cane, and lashed out with a counter of his own.
What happened next was a blur of motion, as Malak attacked with a furious flurry of blows, and Sly Cooper was forced to spend all of his effort blocking them. Time, for the raccoon, seemed to stand still and take hours, as he utilized his ability to slow time: what should, by the laws of physics, have taken seconds stretched into minutes.
Still, even that amount of time seemed too short, as the two plummeted through the ashen skies, twisting and hacking at each other. With only a few moments to spare, they both saw the forest of spires rushing up to meet them, the sharp spikes glistening blood red in the light.
As though in one accord, they launched off of each other: Malak landed on a fairly tall spire, whereas Sly balanced himself on a (relatively) flat pillar. Unfortunately for him, Malak didn't waste a single moment: he almost seemed to fly across the tops of spires and pillars, taking the last twenty meters in one flying leap.
Equally unfortunate, Sly leapt to the side at the last moment, and Malak took one moment to balance himself before spinning around and persuing the Cooper. Despite his own incredible speed, the raccoon got the uncanny feeling that Malak was gaining on him...
Well, master thief, you've gotten yourself into quite the mess here. Mr. Lightning Storm over there's suddenly faster and a whole lot meaner... not to mention that he's only one hit away from victory. But you've been through worse situations... right? A frown on his features, Sly dodged to the side as Malak made another slice at him: once again, the Sith lord was a few millimeters from a clean slice, and one hit like that from such a height would prove more than fatal...
But Sly's life was often measured by the fractions of inches, and he wouldn't have it any other way. So he hopped up and around a larger spire, what seemed to be the pinnacle of whatever unholy building had erupted from the ground. For just a moment, Sly was lost to Malak's sight. That one moment was all that Sly needed.
As Malak landed on the spire, Sly beckoned from another one, perhaps five feet away. "You know, before we get down to the blood and death and other assorted unpleasantries... I'd just like you to know that it's been a pleasure evading your attacks. I've never been missed by so many consecutive attacks before, and for that, I salute you!"
The taunting had an effect, surely, but not the one that the raccoon would have hoped for. The Sith lord, instead of attacking Sly in what would have been another futile attack, cleaved through the spire he was standing on. Despite his normal confidence and grace, Sly could do nothing but hold on as the pointed structure began toppling, eventually stopping to lean against another, shorter, pillar. It was a delicate balancing act, but it gave Sly Cooper a moment's peace.
And as everyone knows, a Cooper needs only one moment.
He mockingly waved to someone beyond Malak, as a silhouette fell on the Sith's shoulders. With one smooth motion, Malak pivoted on the sharp point he was standing on, and sliced with a motion faster than many eyes could see. There was, however, nothing there but a decoy. It was at this moment that the Sith knew how the aerial battle would end, and while it wasn't to his liking, it seemed like an even enough trade to him.
He spun around. As his eyes locked on Sly, there was a flash of blinding light, as the raccon activated Colonel Reid Cooper's secret technique: Stun. Malak wasn't stunned, of course, as his command of the Force enabled him to repair the damage to his optical nerves almost instantly. However, "almost" was not quite fast enough. As he used the Force to regain his bearings, he lost his footings, and the Master of the Sith began plummeting the incredible distance between the top of the spire and the ground below.
He did not, however, go down without a fight. At the very edge of its range, Malak flung his lightsabre at the now-freestanding spire that Sly was balancing on, and the beam of light easily sliced the stone structure in two. It began taking the plunge downward, too quickly for Sly to recover, and before he could take a leap, it was already too late.
As his spire plummeted, however, Sly saw that Malak's descent was slowing down. Pretty soon, about halfway down, it seemed that the Sith lord wouldn't be taking much damage at all from the fall. A slight smile appeared on Sly's face. Can't have that, now can we? Without a second thought, the raccoon leapt into the air, and he took off his hat.
"Malak!" The Sith looked up from his apparent meditation, and Sly dropped his hat down. "You may need this!"
Malak caught the blue hat, and looked at it. Almost instantly, he saw the explosive device hidden inside of it. Once again, however, "almost" wasn't quite fast enough. Sly pressed the trigger on his cane, and spun out of the way as the hat exploded.
There was no way that Malak could have avoided the blast: not even his Force powers were that advanced. So, as the explosion expanded from the blessedly small charge, the Dark Lord plummeted to the ground, landing with a somewhat pronounced "thud." Sly, however, maneuvered himself behind another pillar, and seemed to disappear.
It was at that moment that an infernal patrol entered the area. Small, green, bearded, and equipped with saw-toothed glaives, they almost immediantly picked out Malak's white skin and orange armor. All three members of the patrol leaned in, and one poked Malak with the butt of his glaive. "I think we've got us a deader here!"
"Garn!" A mild curse from another member. "I thought we were soldiers, not custodians! Why can't we just let the lemures get 'im?"
"Orders," the third stated. "Orders are to pick up any non-devils and transport them to the Mage. Alive or dead."
"Bah!" The first one poked Malak again. "What's a mage to do with deaders is all dark to me. Although," he leaned in to the other two, "the chant says that 'e's gonna give them Eternals what's comin' to 'em. Mabbe 'e's gonna use these..."
The third pointed a glaive at the first, his beard quivering. "Orders are orders. If you go off gossiping about your superiors, I might just have to report you."
At those words, the first devil twitched. At the same time, some vestige of life seemed to ignite in Malak, and his hands twitched as well. "You wouldn' dare! I've got me an exemplary record. You'd be in cacky just fer insinuatin' that I'd done something wrong."
Another twitch from Malak, more pronounced this time. The second devil whispered, "Listen, you lot. We've got another round, and then we'll report in 'n' yeh can fight 'n' quabble all ye like. Until then, let's just get this corpse out 'n' continue on. If we're late, then we'll all be barghest food. Right?"
Malak's eyes slid open, and they seemed to be burning with unsated malice. As he stood up and raised his right hand, the three devils spun around. "He ain't no deader, he's..."
It didn't get to complete its sentence, as Malak activated his Death Field. All three of them collapsed, completely drained, whereas Malak was mostly healed. He twirled his weapon around, then noticed a miniscule crack on the right blade. Interesting... it must have been chipped by time, or perhaps when I was fighting against both of them... It shouldn't be a factor.
Without warning, what appeared to be a snowflake made out of pure ice, and razor sharp, flew out of nowhere and just barely missed Malak. The Diamond Saw impacted with one of the spires, and the stone structure began toppling. A few moments later, there was an impact in the spire behind which Malak had not yet ventured. Cautiously, yet somewhat imperiously, he strode out to investigate.
There was Akira, much the worse for wear. Apparently, the battle below had raged while Malak was fighting Sly... And I have little to show for it, the Sith reminded himself. Nevertheless, he brandished his blade at the approaching Culex, a small sliver of doubt running through his mind. This doubt was born by a fact that, to Malak, was a subject of a great deal of worry...
I had best defeat Culex quickly, for my apprentice and I can handle the scoundrel, for... I am running out of Force Power...
Last edited by San Draco on Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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Two hours remain.
If you have not submitted all four Victory Votes for this round (Yes, you get four votes for the entire final, I honestly thought that was clear enough) and still wish to, please submit them now. Once this stage ends, I shall begin tallying and might not accept votes coming in after that time. |
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Seril Eternity Eight

Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 181 Location: Lost Ground
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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Lord of Hell quickly regained his composure, staring down at Shizumaru with an equally evil gleam in his eye, "Look at my realm. Do you think these demons are mortal? No! Not one of them, or you supposed champions, can even come close to my power.It doesn't matter if you're a mortal or a demon, you're still weak compared to the likes of me!"
Shizumaru glared at Lord of Hell, "We'll see..."
Laughing, Lord of Hell motioned his hand back and forth as if he were shooing away a pest. He then came up with a good idea, one that would provide a bit more fun. "Emotions such as love, ideals such as friendship. They are weaknesses. I'll show them to you," a grin crawling onto his face, "In quite a fun way."
Lifting a finger, he waved it around, pointing to each of the five champions numerous times. Stopping at one, he seemed pleased with his decision. "I've heard that you humans tend to care for your females the most," he said, as Nova realized that he was pointing at her, "Let's see what happens when this one dies." Chanting an incantation, his finger glowed with an unholy light. The light seemed to exist for an eternity, then disappeared.
Cyan knew what was coming. He felt the presence of death in Lord's fingertip, and then looked worriedly to Nova who shared his facial expression. Cyan had the fear of it being too late, but still rushed over to Nova. He reached her at the same time a ghostly apparition appeared in front of her, shrouded in a cloak and wielding a scythe. The figure raised the scythe and slashed down as Cyan pushed Nova out of the way. However, Cyan wasn't able to completely make it in time. The slash impacted against both of them, blowing them down to the floor in agony.
Shizumaru looked back at the two, anger contorting on his face. He turned back to to Lord of hell, screaming, "YOU BASTARD!"
Shizumaru began to run at Lord of Hell, but was stopped by Asuka. "Why are you stopping me! He killed them!"
Lord of Hell laughed loudly, his voice ringing against the champions' ears. Asuka turned to Shizumaru and shook his head, "I hate ruining his fun, but the attack wasn't mortal. He's toying with us."
"So, you caught on. If you're that smart, then you know that any further attacks are futile. I am invincible!" shouted Lord of Hell.
Ignoring him, Asuka turned another way, facing Keitaro who had began to walk up to the samurai and Alter. "Keitaro, was it?" he asked. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "You are strong. I can feel it in you. However, right now that strength," he regarded the wind crystal, "Is not needed. Those two need you now, your special kind of strength. That which comes from the heart, not a physical strength. They've been deeply wounded outside and inside, please go to them and help them. We can deal with him."
Keitaro nodded, knowing when to listen. He ran over to the weakened Cyan and Nova, searching on Cyan's body for potions of some sort.
Asuka turned again and faced the demon floating in front of him and Shizumaru, "Mortality makes little difference in this fight, as you said earlier. I had hoped not to use this," he stated, growing more serious by the moment, "As I was saving it for someone back home. It's time to show you the true power of my Eternity Eight."
Asuka's bow and sword disappeared, leaving him completely weaponless. He knew that this had as slim a chance at working as Shizumaru had at rushing in alone, be he had to try his best; it was all he could do. "Eternity Eight... Final Form! Jade Storm!"
The battlefield, previously covered in Asuka's jade crystal, began to tremble greatly. Quickly, sharp slivers of all sizes rose from the ground, causing it to split and shatter; however not taking away as much from it as the mass above in the air now showed. Millions of crystal shards hovered in the air, all directed at Lord of Hell.
Shizumaru, unsure of what was happening, took a few steps back as a large chunk of jade under his feet de-attached from the ground, hovering slightly above Asuka. Catching on, he posed with his Muramasa, ready to strike.
Everything seemed to happen in an instant. The shard Shizumaru was on disappeared along with him as all of the shards attacked Lord of Hell at incredible speeds. Creating a literal whirlwind of jade around Lord of Hell, they then began to pierce through his skin, leaving uncountable numbers of miniature holes in his body. During this, Shizumaru continuously phased in and out next to Lord of Hell in various spots, striking as vast and he materialized and vanished, leaving gigantic cuts on Lord of Hell's body.
After roughly a minute of this, all of the slivers slowed down, then, at the same time, impaled Lord of Hell's body literally replacing skin and blood with jade. Shizumaru appeared above Lord of Hell now, sword ready to strike downward. "Now you die." The jade beneath Shizumaru vanished, making him fall. Striking Lord of Hell with all of his might, he cleaved his body in two. The body then turned to shadow and disappeared.
Panting for breath, Shizumaru propped his body up on his sword. Keitaro looked around, now with a conscious Cyan and Nova next to him. "Is it over?" he asked.
Taking the time to cast a Healing Wind, Nova looked around as well The battlefield was in ruins from Asuka's attack, who still seemed weary despite Nova's healing.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A figure appeared in the sky before them all. The very same figure that moments ago might as well of been a jade statue in two pieces. A look a despair fell on the champions' faces as he spoke, "Well done. Well done! I didn't think you were that strong! This is proving to be fun indeed."
"How!?" shouted Shizumaru, "I-, we just killed you! Nobody could of survived that!"
"Still young in the eyes of the world it seems. Did you honestly expect a powerful mage such as myself to not have a Shadow Servant?"
"I...gave it all I had. It seems we're back at the drawing board," Asuka said, reforming his bow and sword. _________________
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Moogle Hero in a Half-Pint

Joined: 28 Dec 2003 Posts: 149 Location: Maryland, USA
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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"Fools!" the demon of ambiguous nomenclature boomed once again. "Of course all you have will not be enough! It cannot be enough! I have faced the worst that all on my world have to offer and they were stronger than you. Look at you, so pathetic! A washed up old samurai, a pansy little girl, a useless fool with a pet turtle, a little boy with his toys, and an angel wannabe... you never even had a chance to defeat me. Now before I kill you, I'll humiliate you!"
And then the Mage of Hell unleashed that humiliation in the form of more of his Arcane magic... specifically, summoned was the Major Arcana 0 Fool. The scenery of Hell shifted once again.
From the ceiling descended a crystal ball, and lights of all shapes and sizes, and speakers rose up from the earth. Some smoke shot out of the ground as well, creating a slightly steamy effect. Then the music started.
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I’m a woman’s man: no time to talk.
Music loud and women warm, I’ve been kicked around
Since I was born.
The minds of the five would-be heroes were all seized by the Fool's magic and struck with the irresistible urge to break down and do the funkiest disco that they could possibly do. In the case of all five, having no previous disco experience was no impediment to the process.
And now it’s all right. it’s ok.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
The new york times’ effect on man.
One hand on his pelvis and the other with the index finger pointed forward, Keitaro pointed in opposite diagonal directions in time with the music.
Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,
You’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’,
And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive.
Cyan might have been getting a bit old, so his joints were slowing down a bit, but it certainly didn't stop him from busting out the robot and getting down with his bad self.
Well now, I get low and I get high,
And if I can’t get either, I really try.
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes.
I’m a dancin’ man and I just can’t lose.
For Nova it was the California Hustle, three steps back and a clap, three steps forward and a clap, then three more steps back and forward, both with claps. And then left, and then right, doing the exact same thing.
You know it’s all right. it’s ok.
I’ll live to see another day.
We can try to understand
The new york times’ effect on man.
Asuka stepped left and swung right, and swung right and stepped left, looking like he had been doing disco for all of his life.
Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,
You’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’,
And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive.
But all of them were put to shame by Shizumaru, who was apparently some sort of regular John Travolta, and even broke out the Saturday Night Fever step, involving lots of foot movement, pivoting, and pelvic thrusting.
Life goin’ nowhere. somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Life goin’ nowhere. somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah. stayin’ alive.
And the companions boogied, and boogied, and boogied...
The music stopped suddenly and the hellish scenery returned to its normal hellish form. Realizing what they'd just done, the five companions all shifted somewhat embarrassingly, but they were too busy noticing the cackling of the Lord of Hell to even see one another's shame.
"You see! This is still not all of my power! But now that I have humiliated you, now I can kill you!" _________________
Thanks to Switchblade for sig and avatar |
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Seril Eternity Eight

Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 181 Location: Lost Ground
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Meanwhile -
A group of demons were conversing about how much life in the upperworld would kick ass. They were interrupted by the one, the only -
DISCO GENBU! Yes, somehow he had gone under the effects of Lord of Hell's spell!
GENBU FEVER!
GENBU HAVE BURNING DESIRE
GENBU FEVER!
GENBU HAVE BURNING REAR
"Wait, Genbu have burning rear!? NOT AGAIN!" Genbu flew off on his assrocket.
The demons looked at each other, muttering about how the upperworld wasn't all it was cracked up to be. _________________

Last edited by Seril on Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:13 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1202 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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And, meanwhile, somewhere else -
Zack Ebony streaked. |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 452 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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Cyan Garamonde – 7/6
Cyan's Last Hope
“Sir Keitaro, look out!” The azure knight shouted to the young man as a bolt of energy swirled towards him, and Keitaro managed to dodge – or did he just trip? – the bolt of energy just in time. Keitaro adjusted his glasses and nodded a ‘thank you’ for Cyan, and prepared himself to attack the demon once again.
The five contestants were very tired from the battle – even if their bodies were now almost fully healed by Asuka and Nova’s combined efforts. Their minds, however, were tired from the combat – not only this one, but from the week long tournament they had endured, as well as having the responsibility of securing the multiverse solely on their shoulders. Even Cyan, a battle hardened warrior with decades of experience in the battlefield, was feeling tired from the seemingly endless battle. Hell’s Lord was a very skilled swordsman as well as a powerful mage (one should note, of course, that he wouldn’t be as strong as he was if he hadn’t taken the body of Amethyst, the one that had originally started this particular tournament and had participated in many others throughout the years).
Nova and Asuka, especially Nova, were showing clear signs of fatigue, but tried their best not to show it, and kept hammering the demon with everything they got. Shizumaru seemed to have turned into a demon himself – demon which Cyan thought it was awfully familiar – and kept attacking the demon relentlessly at incredible speed. His body seemed like a red and white blur as he literally flew above the battlefield, Muramasa in hand, clashing against the demon Lord. Keitaro was doing pretty well for what Cyan considered to be fit to be out in the battlefield. The young man’s determination, however, proved to be more than fitting to the fight, and Keitaro didn’t falter not even once as he too, attacked the demon – after Cyan had cast a Haste and a Safe spell on him, to increase his speed and defense. The azure knight, however, was running low on magic power once again – he had complexly lost ocunt of how many spells he had cast on his allies in this battle alone and, even after his Dragon technique, he was almost tapped out.
The demon Lord was already giving signs of weakness, and from time to time, he would mutter strange words, begging for the five to kill him – clearly, the vermillion mage speaking -, but soon regained control and continued to fight them. They just needed to fight a little more, but the ‘little more’ seemed to be too much for them to bear, with almost all their powers drained and their hope dwindling as they fought. Cyan remembered fighting alone against several MagiTek knights at once – at that time, of course, he was still blind with the rage and anger that consumed him from the inside, and it didn’t make a difference whether or not he’d live afterwards -, but this was different; he wanted to live, but didn’t have the hope to continue, and the others seemed to feel that way from the grim expressions on their faces. But they continued to fight regardless, exchanging blows and spells against their foe, and he did the same to them.
Cyan guarded himself against yet another Saber attack – this one opening several deep gashes in his skin, adding more red to his once azure armor, which was now covered with blood and sustained several different gashes, exposing his injured skin. Cyan didn’t falter and sped towards the demon at great speed – even if his blows weren’t going to make too much of a difference, he went either way; he just couldn’t let his newfound allies fight without his assistance. Sparks flew as the blades met, and Cyan spun around to land another blow, but the demon parried this, and the next. Shizumaru took advantage of that and swung the Muramasa horizontally from behind and blood poured once again. The young samurai slashed again – he seemed to be under a strange trance as he attacked, but Cyan could not quite fathom the exact reason –, and again, all of this at almost blinding speed. The demon let out a loud cry as it turned to face the samurai, but Shizumaru was not there anymore – instead, he had flown right above the demon’s head, the Muramasa once again cutting the air, aiming for the demon’s head. Hell’s Lord was able to barely dodge the strike, however, and struck his sword against the samurai’s chest, sending Shizumaru soaring back several feet such was the strength of the impact.
Furious.
Taking advantage of the demon Lord’s momentary distraction, and attacked once again – slashing once, then twice, then three times in a row –and leapt to the air, Yuzurenai Negai high above his head, emitting a faint blue glow, and dove towards the Lord of Hell with all the strength he could muster, but the demon managed to parry his last attack, and casting a FireBreath spell, followed by a Vapor Blast spell. Cyan screamed in pain as the flames surrounded his body and the vapor condensed, forming several blades of air and pierced through his chest. The knight spat blood as the stumbled back and fell to the ground – at the same time, Nova and Keitaro struck, preventing the demon Lord to grant further damage (and possibly kill) Cyan. In the old knight’s mind, there was only one hope to defeat him and he gathered all his remaining magical power to cast one last spell – a summoning spell.
“Sir Cyan, I advise you not to do that. My body is still greatly damaged.” Said Alexander’s voice from inside his mind, and Cyan listened while he began chanting softly. “The demon Lord is way too powerful for me to handle own my own with this body.”
But Cyan continued the summoning nonetheless – Alexander was, after all, the holy Esper and was probably their last hope in defeating the demon Lord once and for all.
“Cyan, don’t. I know what you’re thinking, but it will be reckless of you to continue. Your body may not withstand the summoning!” It was Maduin this time, a hint of concern in his voice. “Don’t, Cyan. You’re throwing everything away! There must be another way!”
But Cyan paid no heed to Maduin’s desperate advices and continued regardless. Meanwhile, Shizumaru, Keitaro, Nova and Asuka desperately fought against the demon Lord while the knight focused on his spell.
“Cyan, there is still the chance that the summoning may fail.” Alexander’s angelic voice urged once again, but Cyan was determined to put an end to this – if it failed, he was ready to face his consequences, if it didn’t, then they’d have an extra ally to fight alongside them. And so he did.
"Oh spirit of light, I ask that ye shine upon these warriors and cast thine Judgement! Alexander!" _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..."
Many thanks for SlicedBread for the picture! |
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Helmar Brilliant Reflection

Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 67 Location: Cephiro
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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Asuka felt a chill run down his spine as the demon laughed, seeing the Lord of Hell’s body beginning to glow. “Now you see, this is why I chose this body, why I can never lose to mortals like you! Flash Freeze!”
A halo of ice grew around the Lord of Hell’s body, erupting into a nova of freezing energy. As the energy touched the tip of his sword Asuka could feel the immense cold race up the blade, chilling his hand. He hurled himself backwards, even as knew he couldn’t be fast enough to dodge the wave of ice.
He watched in astonishment as the energy halted a scant inch away from his body, then rebounded back on the Lord of Hell courtesy of Winds of Admonishment.
“They’re fighting back, aren’t they?” Nova asked as the Winds of Admonishment spun around the frozen Lord of Hell. “You didn’t have complete control over them to begin with, and now you’re being forced to fight foes from both without and within. How much longer will you be able to control that body?”
Hell’s Lord didn’t even respond, instead casting another OverDrive. He smirked as the air crystallized around the fighters. “Long enough to see your bones ground to dust.” He uttered a laugh to his captive audience as he prepared another spell. “Long enough to see your powers added to my own, as it was destine-“
Blood spurted from the demon’s back as time returned to normal.
“Has anyone ever told you that you blabber too damn much?” Reaching out into the air, Shizumaru grabbed his umbrella…finishing the Kirisame Jin. Between his own innate speed and Cyan’s Haste spell, Shizumaru had been able to actually surpass the OverDrive.
Cyan stared at the Lord of Hell, Yuzurenai Negai held in Sky stance. “You have no honor; you do as you will with no regard for order, for law, for others.” Cyan felt Alexander’s magicite grow warm, beginning to glow brightly enough to be seen. “You have been judged, and found wanting.”
Asuka looked at Hell’s Lord over a nocked arrow. “You toy with people, idly hurling them to their own worst nightmares. What was it you said, ‘a worthy warrior for me to defeat’? Your wish has been granted; between the five of us, I believe it’s your turn to face your own deepest fear.”
Nova looked at the demon from above, golden glow from the Proof outshining the flames around the battlefield. The beginnings of a Spiral Flash shone before her as she spoke. “You have no courage, you have no faith, you have no belief. All you have is pride in your own abilities, in your own power. Now we’ll show you that just isn’t enough!”
Keitaro pointed a sword of electricity at the demon. “You don’t have any allies, any friends. You don’t have anyone to help you when you’re at your weakest, or to share in your joys! Together, our combined strength is more than enough to defeat you!”
Shizumaru looked the Lord of Hell in the eyes over raised Murasama and Ou Haraeno Maga Kami Shizumaru. “You speak easily of how no mortal can defeat you, how your power is so incredible compared to us.”
His swords settled into place, preparing for the Santou-Ryu Baiu Ensatsu Jin. Around him the four other fighters prepared their own attacks.
“Now we’ll see how full of hot air you really are.” _________________
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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The Final Stage has ended.
I will still be accepting votes for about the next 45 minutes, in case anyone has any. |
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Procyon Raccoon Master Thief

Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 244 Location: Socorro, NM
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:08 pm Post subject: 7-4 |
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From his concealed position behind the pillar, the raccoon watched with a mixture of disbelief and relief as the dark Jedi hurtled to the ground and slammed into the hard soil - and remained motionless as the seconds ticked away. Had he really just beaten that sword-wielding maniac?
Sly heard footsteps, and turned around slightly to see a small crew of green bearded devils scurrying his way - attracted by the chaos of the battle, no doubt. Sly faded away as the demons harmlessly scampered by him - and, spotting Malak's motionless form
"Well," Sly said to himself, "another baddie busted on my watch, and somebody else gets the credit. Well, at least I'll get to write the true story once I get back to the Thiev-"
But his monologue was interrupted as the three demons suddenly collapsed in terror and fell to the ground, as if the life had just been sucked out of their bodies - and, seconds later, the black-robed Jedi slowly rose to his feet, visibly panting in pain and exhaustion. Sly carefully concealed himself behind the pillar (even with invisibility, he would leave nothing to chance) as Malak, gripping his weapon with a furious intensity, looked around him for a few seconds, searching for any sign of his aggressor - and then leapt aside as all of a sudden a freezing razor shot out from within the inside of the forest of needles and spires and crashed into a pillar only a few feet away from him.
Malak took one more look around - and took off in a run towards the temple.
"Hm... you're not getting away that easily." Sly pulled a replacement hat out of his backpack and placed it back on his head, adjusting to make sure it was sufficiently stylish. Malak may not have been defeated yet - but now that the Jedi had lost track of his position, Sly had the element of surprise. This was his game now.
Silently, Sly scurried off in pursuit. _________________
Description 1: Police Dossier
Description 2: The Thievius Raccoonus Online
Chapter 0: Return to Paris 0-1 0-2
Chapter 4: The Red Menace 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7
Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-8 5-9 5-10
Chapter 6: The Jack of Diamonds 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Chapter 7: Seventh Hell 7-1 7-2 7-3 7-4
Current Location: Hell, swept into the air |
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Wayne Retiree

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 440
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Culex looked on as the Dark Star, filled with powerful shadow energy it seemed to radiate darkness, collided with the Dark Side energies enhancing her most powerful technique. In an instant both energies exploded in a massive pulse of negative energy, the shockwave blasting upward and around and shaking the newly-risen demonic citadel to its foundations.
The Dark Knight was impressed, and his glowing eyes locked with Akira's. "I am satisfied, Miss Akira. You have fought w--"
"You don't really think this is over, do you?" she replied darkly, a cruel grin across her face. "I'm going to prove to my Master that I can defeat you by myself. You're not going to run away now, Dark Knight."
Culex's eyes darkened. "So that is how it shall be, then. You are a mortal, Miss Akira. You cannot defeat me."
The girl, who had once taken care to never lose her temper; began to get angry. "Peace is a lie..." she whispered. "There is only passion. Through passion I gain strength." Her voice rose a little higher. "Through strength I gain power. Through power, I gain... victory." She looked up at Culex, and her hands clenched into fists, as she gathered her chi. "Through victory... my chains are broken!"
She gave a short exhalation of air-- a silent kiai-- a charged at Culex, preparing for her Yousu Saiken. Culex drew back his sword, eyes following her rapid motion, and thrust forward... but Akira's spiritual insight sensed the attack, and as her feet left the ground for the shoulder strike she rose just barely over the arc of Culex's stab, hand brushing on the Vandan's wrist, and she pushed, gathering even more momentum, and then she collided with the Dark Knight. A normal attack like that wouldn't even have fazed him... but Akira had such force behind it that he was driven back, diamond feet tearing into the iron ground, and for a moment he buckled, hunched forward, but then recovered.
Culex slashed downward, his incredible strength propelling his crystal blade downward, but Akira rolled ahead of it on the ground, and she spun around behind Culex, lashing out with her right arm and catching the Vandan behind his crystal legs, sweeping him and then launching him upward into the air. Akira followed her enhanced Houbu with a Force leap upward, and swept a leg out toward Culex, but the Dark Knight halted in midair, his levitation powers breaking that sudden flight, and he blocked with his arm. Akira's foot struck and Culex flinched, but the girl's leg stung as well, despite using her chi defensively.
She landed gracefully on the ground, and Culex dutifully floated down, allowing her a chance to breathe and refocus herself. His glowing eyes suddenly looked up, sensing an unpleasant turn in the duel between Sly and Malak; and he sighed. "Passion will not give you victory, Miss Akira." the Dark Knight began. "I was once young, like you are, although I have chosen not to remember most of it. Giving in to 'emotion' made me weak... it was placing my strength in what was the fleeting needs of the moment."
"Don't preach to me." Akira hissed in reply. "The 'moment' is all we have. It's all we can change. Malak told me how the Jedi abandoned him... and I know how he feels, it happened to me!"
"I know your past, Miss Akira. I know your pain. It does not compare to what you will suffer in your future... you will find you were... happy... when you were at peace."
"Happy?" she shook her head. "I wasn't happy. I realize that now. I was just doing what everyone-- my friends, my brother-- expected me to. Peace was like a prison... but passion," she said, voice rising, as her mind focused on the Code of the Sith, "...passion sets me free!"
Culex stared at her one final time. Then, with resignation, he tossed his crystal blade to the ground.
"Are you... giving up?" Akira asked, suddenly puzzled.
The Dark Knight began advancing toward her. "No. I am, as the humans say, 'untying my hand from behind my back.' A weapon is, paradoxically, a weakness against you, able to evade it. You have lost that advantage."
The girl sneered. "I never needed it."
Culex's eyes glimmered, as he prepared his own attack. "We shall see."
He lunged, violet form blurring with his remarkable speed, and slashed at Akira, right hand claws raking toward her face. She dodged back, and just as quickly snapped up her arm to grab Culex's and force him down, but without wasting a moment the Vandan lashed out with his left hand and scored a line of shallow gashes on her side. Akira flinched but maintained her attack, and flipped Culex over. The Vandan fell roughly toward the ground, but caught himself with a clawed hand, and levitated around. While he was righting himself Akira struck with a vicious double-handed strike into Culex's midsection, and the Dark Knight recoiled back.
Once he was again standing he punched at Akira's head, but she ducked underneath, yet before she could counter Culex drew back that hand and spun into a hooking jab at the side of her face, and Akira had to crouch even lower to evade. For the last Culex swung the back of his left hand at her, but Akira dropped all the way to the ground and scissored at Culex's legs with her own, attempting to bring him down while he was counterbalanced in his strike... but as though it didn't even slow him down he jumped upward, arm still in motion, and floated several meters backward before landing again.
Akira darted forward, then abruptly stopped as a scythelike blade of heat from the Fire Crystal arced just in front of her, carving out a line in the iron floor. The girl tumbled forward, over the blazing swath of flame, but Culex took an almost casually quick step back and Akira landed to no effect on the ground. She snarled, and with an influx of chi prepared an Urarimon, fist driving upward at Culex's torso-- he had no visible vital points, but Akira felt the hit would be enough-- with a great deal of strength, augmenting her naturally rapid counter strikes. Her fist flew unerringly toward her crystalline opponent... and then it was caught, impacting with Culex's palm, as he met her hand with his own.
There was a crack as her chi-focused blow smashed into Culex's hand... he was durable, but not invulnerable, and Akira's strike smashed off slivers of crystal as a spiderweb pattern cracked over his hand, much like a gunshot or similar impact scar on glass. The Vandan visibly flinched, but he managed to hold on enough to continue with his other attack. Just as rapidly his left hand shot to and grabbed around Akira's throat, and Culex lifted her off the ground.
"This is your last chance, Miss Akira. I see that you would show me mercy, and... though as a Knight it is an affront, after you have already rejected it... I must offer you the same." He sighed, increasing the pressure of his grip-- he had the advantage, momentarily; but he saw Akira breaking free-- knowing that if he did not kill her, he would never get another chance, yet he couldn't....
"T-that's nice," she gasped, and reached for Culex's elbow, coiling her legs to counter, realizing she had only one trick to use, without any ground to build leverage from.
The Vandan's eyes dimmed a dull red. "I ask you... do not force me to kill you."
She glared at him, eyes more full of hate than ever. "W-what," she hissed, trying to breathe, "Makes y-you think... y-you... can?" And Akira-- sooner than even Culex was prepared for-- used his arm as an anchor, both of her arms wrapped around his for balance, and then cartwheeled up, feet-first. With another swell of chi her heels smashed into the Vandan's jaw and catapulted him off the ground, breaking his grip; Akira deftly landed on her feet as Culex smashed into and dented the iron surface with his weight.
Even more energized now, despite her waning reserves of energy; Akira shifted into her combat stance, grinning inwardly, as Culex slowly stood. Her Master would be so pleased....
Culex mentally arranged his crystals into a triad, the Earth crystal behind Akira, and the others to her sides, each about fifty feet away. His eyes, which had dimmed in regret; flared back to life. If she would pass up all chances at forgiveness, then... the girl had truly fallen. Being a Hero, like Peorth had asked... he had given her more of a chance than he ever would have as a Knight. But he was no mortal, no human given to Hope and a belief that all can be saved. If she would not be redeemed, then....
The Dark Knight pointed at Akira, and with a hum the Earth Crystal sent a faint invisible pulse, along the ground's ley-line... and Akira, eyes widening, leaped out of the way as the steel was suddenly blasted apart, a huge golden shockwave roaring up through the ground where she had been. The Water Crystal fired a Diamond Saw at where she was, just as the Blast went off, and the whirling razor-sharp discs of ice whirled past Akira, the girl spinning in place to narrowly evade between them; a few strands of dark hair slowly drifted to the iron floor, so near was the miss. In turn the Fire Crystal projected a ball of flame, but the effect of it was weak, and Akira combined the Force with her chi and absorbed it harmlessly... but that was what Culex wanted; for her to stand still. Just as the Flame hit the Water Crystal lit again, scattering dancing patterns of blue on the iron, and a snap-freeze enveloped Akira, freezing her.
The Solidify wore off in an instant, and her gear protected her from any danger of frostbite... but the sudden chill had left her slowed and vulnerable. And before she could react Culex struck, fist impacting at her chest. Akira was flung dozens of meters backward and smashed into the side of the demonic fortress... just as Malak appeared from the shadows.
The Dark Lord hissed, the sound reverberating from his cybernetic mouthpiece. "Arise, apprentice. You have done well so far... and victory is at hand."
Akira stumbled back up, injured; but Malak's words gave her strength. "Through victory... my chains... are broken...."
"Yes," the Dark Jedi intoned, nodding. "You have learned the Code of the Sith well, apprentice."
Culex was still badly shaken from the number of hits he had taken from Akira, and although his enemies were weakened, he was little better off... and his crystals had likewise little time to recharge. Defeat could come at any time for either side, now... he was even more cautious.
Malak's eyes narrowed and he used the Force to propel himself through the air, striking downward at Culex with a mighty Force Leap, but the Vandan sidestepped. Malak stabbed at Culex's head, which he parried bare-handed, and then swept the blade down at Culex's heels, tripping the Knight. The Sith Lord raised his hand, and with another swell of Force power blasted Culex backward with a wave of the Force; and the crystalline knight landed roughly on the ground.
The Water Crystal formed a crystal of ice and projected it at Malak, who sliced it in half with the Twin Sword; but as the gigantic chunk of ice eclipsed his field of vision the Earth Crystal had circled to Malak's back, and again a tremor through the geomantic field tunneled into the ground. Malak was not as quick as Akira, nor were his reflexes as keen; and the Blast caught him in half its effect. The stunned Sith Lord was blown some twenty feet to the side, but he used the Force to slow his descent and landed, albeit ungainly, on his feet.
Akira dashed toward Culex, and felt Malak's call in her head; and she summoned the Force once again to launch herself forward, much as she'd seen-- and felt-- Malak do. Culex evaded backward, fist striking out at Akira; but she twisted to the right, and with a Judo-style through stepped into his range and then flipped him roughly over her shoulder. The Dark Knight abruptly halted in mid-throw, however, levitating in his awkward position two feet from the ground-- and, suspended on nothing, used both hands to grab the collar of her jacket, throwing her straight up into the air.
Malak Force Leaped back at Culex, driving the Twin Sword into his shoulder, and the Vandan hissed as the blade bit true. Culex swung around in a rapid backhand, but it was slowed visibly by the Dark Lord's aura of protective Force energies, and he dodged. Malak raised his free hand and blasted Culex backward with a electrocuting field of Dark Side power... but the Dark Knight was not defenseless and hurled a Flame Stone at the Sith Lord, breaking his concentration as he stopped to bat aside the burning projectile.
Akira used her chi to slow her fall... and then her eyes gleamed as she had a better idea. In midair, high above Culex, she focused more spiritual energy... and as she fell unleashed a Kikoukai, a sphere of crackling black, negative energy blasting into Culex. The Dark Knight resisted, but was knocked backward, the force of the energy sapping his power even more, and he fell to one knee, a faint trail of violet energy escaping from his mouth and the deep wounds inflicted by his enemies as he sighed.
The Fire Crystal lit up brilliantly from within and a sudden blistering wave of heat expanded around it, a sphere, blinding like a sun, appearing in front of it... and then a vivid Corona exploded into Malak and Akira. Culex's eyes glowed just as bright; after the damage both took, there was little chance they could withstand that attack.
To his surprise, although both his enemies were singed, and shaking visibly from the intense fiery energy... they were standing. Malak has his hand raised, as he had protected them both with the Force, using it as a buffer against energy... and then he lowered it, eyes boring into Culex.
"You have no chance against the Lord of the Sith." boomed Malak, his cybernetics amplifying his voice. "Why don't you surrender, and tell me why I should let you live?"
Culex shook his head. "This battle is nearly over, it is true. But it is a fight none of us will win."
Without waiting for another reply, Culex flung out his hand, claw-tipped index finger first, and a piercing cone of energy shredded away Malak's defensive Force powers. The Dark Lord hissed and lunged, Twin Sword first, but Culex rapidly brought in the Earth Crystal to block, and though Malak's vibroblade bit into the crystal, it did little visible damage. That crystal glowed golden and suddenly a hot geyserlike wave of water burst from nowhere under their feet. While both recovered from their sudden scalding Culex lunged for Akira, grabbing her arm and tossing her sideways out of the way, though she landed on her feet with little difficulty, and then thrust his hand, claws first, at Malak's throat. The surprised Sith Lord used the Force to push back at Culex, and stalled the attack long enough to evade, and Culex, unable to get back in time, could only raise his other arm to block as Malak summoned the Force, preparing for a deadly power dive with his mighty weapon.
To Culex's surprise the Sith Lord recoiled and stumbled forward, twitching to resist a jarring electric current... and behind the Dark Jedi was standing Sly Cooper, landing acrobatically back on his feet, recovering from his "Electromagnetic Raccoon Roll." Malak glared and spun around toward Sly, hand raised to challenge a Lightning Storm at he and Culex, but the Vandan lashed out with a sudden backhand, catching Malak on the chest, knocking him backward near Akira; she leaped back to catch her Master and kept him from falling, and then both rose.
"Your timing, Mr. Cooper, is impeccable, as always." said Culex, though his voice was slower and more strained than before.
"As always! I was worried for a bit there, though... if it wasn't for Sir Augustine of Cooper and his old fight with gravity... I probably would have met the devil." He took a deep breath, and then grinned. "So I guess this is it."
"Indeed." Culex raised his hand, a familiar circle of dark power coursing around him, as he prepared to summon the Dark Star... yet the black energy circle was weak, and his eyes dimmed at the growing strain of conjuring one....
Akira tensed, trying to focus her chi and the Force once more into the Hissatsu, Gou-Kikouken... hands trembling from trying to gather that much energy, and her overuse of the Dark Side of the force was causing her to lose focus....
Malak was likewise drained, and although violet electricity crackled from his fingertips, it seemed he could produce little else....
Sly, though, with a fresh charge of adrenaline from escaping from near death, and without any magic, chi, or Force power to draw from in the first place; was wondering why the other three looked so peaked.
Culex lowered his hand, letting the dark energy fade. "I... think it unwise to continue. You have fought well today, and... though I am loathe to admit it... the Dark Side has brought you great strength."
Malak shook his head. "Do you presume to force us to walk away? Do you think that we can be satisfied with your pathetic words of praise? We are Sith, Dark Knight... and we are satisfied with nothing less than to triumph."
The Vandan's glowing eyes locked with Malak's. "Then you may try. You and your apprentice are exhausted. I am likewise weakened, as is Mr. Cooper... but we are capable of continuing until we become easy prey for the devils here."
As though on cue a Cornugon stepped from a Gate into that area of Hell, although he was still distant, hidden in the shadows of the spires of the diabolical tower.
Akira, through panting breaths, turned to Malak and spoke. "Master, he... had gained an advantage against me, and showed mercy. Perhaps we should--"
"Mercy is for the Jedi." Malak replied, seething. "Mercy is what makes the Light Side weak. If you have a foe at your mercy, you must kill him. Even if it is your Master." He glared at Akira. "It is the way of the Sith."
"Yes," Akira returned, quickly, and nodded. "But if that enemy has us at his mercy, and lets us go... should we not take it, to strike again another day, when victory is assured?"
Malak crossed his arms, resting the Twin Sword across his chest. "...perhaps so. What do you say, apprentice? Would you take advantage of a foe who proved too weak to kill you when he should have?"
The girl pondered that. It went against what she knew-- or what she did before. To kill the strong because they were too... noble?... to strike the killing blow? But if the Sith survived, and killed that one later, then they were stronger....
"Yes," intoned Malak, as though reading her mind. "The Jedi speak of mercy and honor. But a being who lives 'honorably' and dies is just as dead as he had not."
"I understand, master." Akira said, and she glanced at Culex. "...yes. We should accept for now... and if we meet again, I will defeat him then."
The Dark Lord relaxed, lowering his arms to his sides. "Very well, apprentice. You have learned much today, in the ways of the Sith... you should remember it well and reflect upon it... and remember how your passion gave you strength."
Akira nodded, and Malak strode toward Culex. "You are right, Dark Knight. It would be unwise for us to kill each other in such a place."
Culex gave a short bow toward Malak, who simply nodded his head in reply. "Then... you have fought well and honorably-- more or less-- and a Knight must respect that in opponents evil as well as good, as long as the challenge was met." He closed his hand into a fist, and concentrated. After several moments a pair of Quartz Charms appeared in his hands, octagonal gems of power, seeming to diffuse the light that passed into them.
He handed one to Malak without a word, and then slowly walked toward Akira, the rest of her helmet now removed; who stiffened as Culex approached, until he handed her the second. "Your spirit... is strong. I will remember this meeting... it is a memento of a true battle." He placed the Charm in her hand and, eyes glowing faintly, reached out and patted her on the head.
He gradually retraced his steps, and formed a third crystal in his hand, and granted the third Quartz Charm to Sly, pressing it into the raccoon's hand. "Your will is strong... and you are a courageous soul, despite your... flaws." His eyes shimmered. "Yet you were an ally to a Dark Knight of Vanda when he needed one... and that shall not be forgotten."
"Whoa," said the thief, holding up the crystal to the light. "This is nice! How much is it worth, exactly?"
"It is worth your life." When Sly suddenly looked up, Culex gave a short laugh. "The Quartz Charm is not to be sold. It makes you stronger and more durable, like a crystal... and it hides away your mortal fragility in the same way. It protects your soul from an unexpected stroke of death, in effect... and I understand in your line of work, that is... priceless."
His eyes lightened, in what for him was similar to a smile; and then he turned toward Malak. "Perhaps we shall meet again, Lord Malak."
"I would hope so." hissed the Dark Lord. "This is not over."
"For now it is." replied Culex, and he looked up distantly above them, sensing the flow of the battle far overhead. "...it is not the place of a Knight to judge good or evil, Lord Malak... yet in your future, you will battle one not as lenient as I. You will meet your end... either from your own apprentice... or from another."
"Anyone could tell you that, Dark Knight. It is the way of all Sith. I am no more afraid of my apprentice than I am of you."
Culex's eyes gave a final shimmer. "Then I shall watch with interest the remaining days of your life, Lord Malak... and those of your apprentice." With a final bow he turned and began walking away... sensing that the battle was nearly over, and that, soon enough, the final conclusions of all that had transpired would soon be revealed.... _________________
"I am matter... I am antimatter.... I can see your past... I can see your future.... I consume time... and I will consume you!" |
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 12:04 am Post subject: |
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Blood...
Blood dripped off the claws of the saurian form.
Blood...
Blood coated the blade of the Muramasa.
Blood...
Blood leaked down the face of the possessed mage.
Blood...
Blood oozed from Nova's abdomen.
Blood... so much blood.
Blood hissed and evaporated from the smoking blade the mage wielded.
So much blood...
Blood flew from the tips of Shizumaru's wings.
So much blood... spilled just for us...
They fight us. They fight for us.
SILENCE! Were I not so engaged, I would crush you here and now!
Don't mind us...
We're just the voices...
...in your head.
Insolent worms. So be it. Enjoy your solitude.
Darkness.
Flash. A Time Leap spell nullifying Alexander's attack by warping the holy energy away through time even as it flew toward the mage.
Darkness.
Flash. Asuka's sword slicing into the scaled hide.
Darkness.
Flash. Winds roaring outward from Nova as she turns aside a Saber spell.
Flash. A claw driving through one of Shizumaru's arms.
Flash. Electricity coursing through the Mage of Hell's body as Keitaro connects.
Flash. A Dark Sphere spell crushing Cyan to the floor.
A Swallow Swing's blades of razor-sharp air slicing into Asuka's chest.
The smoking sword slamming into Cyan in the finishing strike of Rosario Impale.
The mage's claws laying open Keitaro from neck to groin.
The sword thrusting through both Asuka's chest and Nova's as she tries to take the blow for him.
Pain from Shizumaru's umbrella slamming into the mage's stomach as he begins to pull back from the lunge that impaled the two.
Pain from Shizumaru's nodachi knocking him higher into the air and slicing into his back just above his tailbone.
Blood. The Muramasa freeing a shower of blood as it slides along his backbone in the final strike of the three-sword style Baiu Ensatsu Jin.
Then, vision, light, smell, the stench of blood, sound, the roar and crackle of fire as the mage stumbled forward, collapsing to his hands and knees (Touch! The gritty volcanic rock beneath him slick with blood. Taste! The iron tang of blood and smoke in his mouth). A hissing sound behind him, and he threw himself to one side as the Kirisame sliced through the space where he had been. He rolled to his back, pain shooting up the mage's spine as it made contact with the rough rock, to see Shizumaru, wings spread like an avenging angel, raising the Muramasa for another strike.
"Stop!"
Shizumaru paused, his mind temporarily overriding the Muramasa's bloodlust. The mage's eyes were calm, soft. Slowly, he lowered the bloodthirsty sword, ready to react if it was a trap. Then, a different hiss. Spinning, the samurai and mage witnessed the lizardlike skin that had been sliced off the mage's back writhing, twisting, trying to stand on its own.
"Fool! You could have had all the power in the multiverse!" The voice hissed and echoed. Slithering closer, the apparent repository of Hell's Lord began to plead. "I was willing to share it with you. It's not too late. Join with me again, and we can sweep across the planes like a tsunami..."
The voice was cut off when the near-random waving of the lizardskin's head fixed on Amethyst's face. Slowly, the mage shook his head and stood up.
"You never had any intention of sharing. As surely as our souls were linked, I know that. Besides, you forget one thing." He raised one hand, aiming the open palm in the lizardskin's direction. Hurriedly, the skin tried to bunch itself up and get away in any direction except the one the mage was aiming.
"Vanish."
Behind the skin, a ripple appeared in midair, expanding to encompass the demon. The rippling intensified, and with a final cry of "I would have given you everything..." the Lord of Hell disappeared.
"...You forgot that we're a good guy." Sighing, he turned back to the red-haired samurai. "Thank you, Shi-" and stopped, only now taking in what lay behind them. Slaughter was a poor descriptor. Charnel house was better, but still not the right image. Hurrying to one body, Amethyst kneeled, slung one arm under Keitaro's shoulders, and lifted him to chest level. The boy's glasses hung askew on his face, ribs revealed like a macabre xylophone, visceral fluids leaking from ruptured organs.
We have to do something!
What? He's DEAD, Jim. Nothing short of divine intervention will bring him back-
Rouge's personality didn't get to finish that thought, for Amethyst's hands had begun to glow. Slowly, the horrid wound closed under his touch, edges melding together seamlessly, broken ribs shifting back into place. After a minute or two, the body was whole, but still lifeless. Following the urge of a drive he knew nothing about, he closed his eyes and dropped his head to listen to Keitaro's chest. Slowly, the air around them cleared of smoke, and the pearly surface that had been glamered atop the "reality" of Hell expanded outward in a circle from the three figures. A heartbeat. Then, Keitaro gasped and sat up, one hand clutching his chest, the other going for his glasses.
Amethyst sighed and sat back, one hand rubbing the still-bloody wound on his own head where the Lord of Hell had been personally excised. He looked at the blood on his hand and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then rose and walked to the nearest bodies, which happened to be the skewered forms of Nova and Asuka. Slowly, reverently, he pulled the wickedly-barbed sword from their bodies, casting it to one side. Then, he repeated the performance he made with Keitaro. The samurai and the dorm manager looked on in silence. Nova screamed as the life was almost forced back into her body, then made as if to attack Amethyst, but stopped at the look in his eyes. Nodding, she stood, allowing the magician access to Asuka's body. As Nova worked to heal the wounds Shizumaru had taken, Amethyst bent over Asuka, healing him. The jade armor he wore sloughed off him as dust as he sat up, clutching his head.
Then, Amethyst moved to Cyan. The samurai had been cut completely in half by the final powerful downward slice at the end of Rosario Impale. Tears leaking from his eyes, the mage slid the two halves together and began healing them. Bone and flesh knit together, torn organs reconstituted themselves, and bloodflow and respiration began once more. Slowly, the old samurai opened his eyes, looking into the soft blue orbs of Amethyst, surprised to be alive, but willing to accept it.
Finally, the six turned to Ralph. The gray demon lay where he had fallen, miraculously undisturbed by the raging battle. Amethyst crouched beside him, tears still streaming from his eyes. Calmly, he laid one hand on the head of the demon, just between the horns. Ralph screamed as he bolted upright like a man waking from a bad dream.
"Mice! Mice everywhere!"
"MICE?" Everyone said.
"Mice. Also bookworms, termites, mold spores, computer viruses... My worst fears. Anything and everything that could destroy knowledge. I..." He looked at Amethyst. "...Are you yourself again, sir?"
Amethyst stood. "I am." He walked a few steps away and turned to face the other six. "I... Thank you. All of you. Without you, I... We..." He swayed on his feet, took a step to try and steady himself, and collapsed.
"Oh dear," murmured Ralph, "Miss Nova, if you would, please?"
Nova nodded, a Healing Wind closing the still-bleeding scalp wound where the head of the lizard had been and the wound that nearly exposed his vertebra to open air. Groaning, the mage climbed to one knee and chuckled.
"Eh heh... Seems I've overdone it. Thank you, Nova-san. Ah, Ralph, do you still have the location of the place I wanted to meet them all in there?"
Ralph paused a moment to pull out his handheld and poke a few buttons. "Yes, sir. I can take you all there now, if you like."
"Please do."
With a flash, Hell was left to its demons.
---
And there you have it. Congratulations to Hisame Shizumaru, Sponsored by CarlyCheeese. As several people said in their e-mails, it's her time, it's her show, and although I had no bias towards seeing any one of our finalists or even the rest of the competitors win, I can agree with them. Let's all give her a big round of applause. She deserves it. |
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Bud Pumpkin King

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 1466 Location: luz
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 12:13 am Post subject: |
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Congrats, carly, and congrats to all the other finalists. That was a good tournament. |
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Lisa Pumpkin Queen

Joined: 03 Jul 2002 Posts: 1851 Location: Fa'Diel
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 12:19 am Post subject: |
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*tacklehuggles Carly* WOOO! Major congratulations to you! ^______^ As well as to the other finalists, and to Dareon for throwing this wonderful tournament! Thank you. :3 _________________
SIEG PUMPKIN
Thanks for the lovely sig & avatar, Nif! |
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Tenshi Kain The Chief Apostle

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 413 Location: Train Graveyard
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 12:19 am Post subject: |
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It's no empty praise for me to say that this was an extremely well-written final on all your parts. Seril and Helmar, for two relatively new guys, you write like naturals, yus you do! Magus, your Cyan actually makes me like FF6 a little more. XD And Moogle, only you could have brought Keitaro Urashima to the finals. Good show, you guys. You remind me of why I dig these tournaments so much.
And I knew that someday you'd walk out with the strap around your delectab...cute waist, Carly. XD Well played. Like it's been said, it was your turn and it's your time, and nobody would deny you pride in this victory. Your Shizumaru is still one of my favorite performances in any Survivor. Have yourself a party, champ. You are twice the writer I am.
Thanks for sharing these great stories, you guys, and thanks for being such a top-notch host, Dare. It's always a pleasure and it continues to be. I wouldn't get this maudlin except that I really enjoyed just sitting back and reading this one. Good times. Thank you so much! _________________
Eve :: Of :: The :: Festival
Nosferatu Zodd, Rurouni Taikai SaGa |
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 342 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 12:22 am Post subject: |
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By popular demand, the tally.
Shizumaru: 24
Cyan: 18
Keitaro: 6
Nova: 2
Asuka: 2
Congratulations again, a big hand to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, because this tournament wouldn't have been half so interesting without you all, and the afterparty will be up sometime in the next day. |
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